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0KH.OGY 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN 
AND  HEDGEROW 


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Frontispiece 

THE  LONG-TAILED   FIELD   MOUSE 
A  mouse  up  aloft  among  the  wild  plum  blossom 


WILD  CREATURES  OF 
GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 


BY 

FRANCES    PITT 


NEW    YORK 

DODD,  MEAD  AND  COMPANY 
1920 


Printed  in  Great  Britain 


PREFACE 

THE  following  account  of  some  of  the  commoner 
birds  and  beasts  around  us  is  written  in  the 
hope  of  interesting  boys  and  girls,  and  some 
of  the  older  people  too  if  possible,  in  the  wild 
life  of  garden,  hedgerow,  and  field.  Scientific 
language  has  been  avoided,  for  no  facts  lose 
value  from  being  expressed  in  plain  words. 
I  have  confined  myself  to  the  everyday  crea- 
tures that  may  be  met  with  in  garden  and 
meadow— the  mice,  birds,  frogs,  toads,  and  other 
animals  that  every  person  comes  across — as  they 
are  quite  as  interesting  as  the  more  uncommon 
ones.  Indeed  from  a  natural  history  and  scien- 
tific point  of  view  there  are  probably  as  many, 
if  not  more,  valuable  facts  waiting  to  be  dis- 
covered concerning  the  ordinary  creatures  that 
we  meet  with  every  day  than  there  are  concern- 
ing animals  out  in  the  wilds.  We  want  to  know 
how  and  why  the  creatures  around  us  do  the 

v 

491356 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

different  things  that  we  see  happening  daily. 
We  want  facts,  and  the  descriptions  that  are 
given  hereinafter  are  almost  entirely  the 
observations  and  notes  made  while  watching 
the  creatures  in  question ;  and  any  value 
these  studies  may  possess  will,  I  believe,  be 
found  due  to  the  fact  that  they  are  records  at 
first  hand  of  what  has  been  thus  seen  and  learnt. 
Four  chapters  have  previously  appeared  as 
essays  in  the  National  Review,  to  the  Editor 
of  which,  Mr.  L.  J.  Maxse,  I  am  indebted  for 
kindly  allowing  them  to  be  republished  herein. 

FRANCES  PITT. 


VI 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  BATS 1 

II.  THE  BANK  VOLE 24 

III.  TWO  COMMON  BIRDS     ....  45 

IV.  SHREWS 71 

V.  TOADS  AND  FROGS          ....  95 

VI.  THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE      .            .  118 

VII.  'THE  LITTLE  GENTLEMAN  IN  THE  BLACK 

VELVET  COAT'           ....  143 

VIII.  THIEVES  OF  THE  NIGHT  .  .  .166 

IX.  SOME  GARDEN  BIRDS  ....  192 

X.  THE  HEDGEHOG 214 

XL  THREE  COMMON  REPTILES  .  .  .239 

XII.  THE  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD  VOLE  260 


vn 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE  .  .  Frontispiece 

LONG-EARED  BATS  ASLEEP  ....  To  face  page  6 

LONG-EARED  BATS  AWAKE  ....  „  6 

PlPISTRELLE  ABOUT  TO  TAKE  FLIGHT  .  ,,6 

THIRTEEN  LONG-EARED  BATS  .  .  .  „  16 

BANK  VOLES — 'STOLEN  GOODS'  ...  ,,36 

BANK  VOLES — '  ON  THE  ALERT  '  ,,36 

YOUNG  SONG  THRUSH — '  WAITING  '  ,,54 
YOUNG  SONG  THRUSH — '  Is  THAT  MOTHER 

COMING?' ,,54 

BLACKBIRD  ON  HER  NEST  ....  ,,64 

THE  PIGMY  OR  LESSER  SHREW  ...  ,,84 

THE  WATER  SHREW „  84 

A  TOAD  CLIMBING „  100 

THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE  (2  PHOTOGRAPHS)  „  128 

THE  MOLE  (2  PHOTOGRAPHS)  .  .  .  ,,144 

' WHISKERS'  AND  OLD  Puss  ...  „  174 

AN  OLD  ENGLISH  BLACK  RAT  BUSY  EATING  „  186 

A  COMMON  BROWN  RAT  WITH  A  HEN'S  EGG  „  186 
THE  GREAT  TIT  CARRYING  HOME  FOOD  FOR 

ITS  YOUNG     ......  „        210 

A  HEDGEHOG  FAMILY — THE  MOTHER  ROLLED  UP  „  234 
A  HEDGEHOG  FAMILY — THE  OLD  HEDGEHOG 

UNROLLS „  234 

THE  HARMLESS  GRASS  SNAKE  .  .  „  244 

THE  INNOCENT  BLINDWORM  ....  „  244 
THE  MEADOW  VOLE  OR  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD 

MOUSE  (3  PHOTOGRAPHS)       ...  „       264 


CHAPTER  I 

BATS 

Go  out  any  warm  still  evening  into  your 
garden,  whether  it  be  a  town  or  country  one ; 
wait  and  watch  for  a  few  minutes,  and  as  the 
light  begins  to  fail  you  will  see  the  shadowy 
shapes  of  the  bats  wheeling  and  turning  against 
the  sunset  sky.  There  are  big  ones  and  little 
ones,  tiny  things  flittering  up  and  down  the 
hedgerows,  bigger  ones  flying  round  the  trees, 
and  larger  still  dashing  by  high  overhead  with 
strong  purposeful  flight.  Strange  shrill  squeaks 
fill  the  air  as  they  turn  and  twist  and  chase  one 
another,  tumbling  sometimes  through  the  air 
as  if  romping  and  playing  together.  So  high 
is  the  note,  so  shrill  the  voices,  that  many  people 
cannot  hear  the  bats  calling  to  one  another; 
they  stand  and  listen  and  do  not  hear  a  sound, 
yet  the  evening  air  will  be  full  of  tiny  voices, 
of  high-pitched  squeaks,  as  the  little  '  flitter- 
mice  '  race  and  chase  the  moths  and  other 
night-flying  insects  to  and  fro. 

A  1 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

Some  persons  call  them  '  leathery-bats,' 
others  '  flitter-mice,'  but  neither  name  is  a  good 
one,  for  they  are  not  mice,  nor  are  their  wings 
at  all  leathery.  The  wing  of  a  bat  is  really  a 
very  wonderful  thing.  It  is  a  hand  with  long 
fingers,  between  which  the  skin  has  been  drawn 
out  so  as  to  make  the  membrane  of  the  wing. 
If  you  spread  out  your  hand,  and  imagine  the 
four  fingers  pulled  out  and  grown  until  very 
very  long,  while  the  thumb  remains  short  and 
stumpy,  and  that  the  skin  between  the  fingers 
has  also  grown  and  been  stretched  until  it 
extends  not  only  from  tip  to  tip  of  the  fingers 
but  along  the  side  of  the  body  to  the  hind  foot, 
you  will  understand  how  a  bat's  wing  has  be- 
come what  it  is.  It  is  simply  a  much  changed 
and  developed  hand,  the  bones  of  this  hand 
acting  like  the  ribs  of  an  umbrella  and  serving 
to  keep  the  skin  stretched  and  taut  when  the 
owner  is  in  flight.  When  the  bat  alights  it 
folds  up  its  hands,  the  skin  falls  into  wrinkly 
folds,  and,  using  the  thumb  joint  as  a  fore  foot, 
it  is  able  to  run  about  almost  as  quickly  as  a 
mouse.  The  skin  of  the  wings  extends  along 
the  side  of  the  body,  is  attached  to  the  hind  leg, 
and  then  joins  the  tail,  thus  making  a  rudder 
with  which  the  bat  steers  itself  when  flying; 
2 


BATS 

also,  when  the  tail  is  curved  upwards,  forming 
a  sort  of  pouch,  but  of  the  use  of  this  pouch 
more  presently. 

4  Flitter-mouse  '  is  hardly  a  better  name  than 
4  leathery-bat,'  because,  as  I  have  already  said, 
bats  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  mice ; 
they  are  not,  as  some  people  think,  mice  with 
wings,  but  all  the  same  they  are  mammals. 
By  mammals  is  meant  creatures  which  suckle 
their  young.  If  you  can  find  or  catch  a  bat 
you  will  see  it  is  not  a  bit  like  a  mouse,  even  its 
soft  delicate  grey  or  brown  fur  is  longer  and 
more  silky ;  but  it  is  in  the  shape  of  its  skull 
and  teeth  that  the  greatest  differences  lie. 
In  the  front  of  the  mouth  of  a  mouse  or  rat 
you  will  see  two  pairs  of  sharp-edged  cutting 
teeth,  or  incisors,  between  which  and  the  molars 
or  grinding  teeth  there  is  a  considerable  gap. 
In  the  bat's  tiny  mouth  will  be  seen  pointed 
teeth  arranged  evenly  all  round,  totally  different 
from  the  peculiar  cutting  teeth  of  the  Rodents, 
as  mice,  rats,  and  rabbits  are  called. 

So  bats  are  just  bats,  and  have  nothing  to  do 
with  anything  else.  Very  quaint,  curious,  and 
wonderful  little  creatures  they  are  too,  besides 
which  they  do  a  great  deal  of  good,  for  they 
live  entirely  upon  insects,  eating  great  numbers, 

3 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

and  take  up  at  dusk  the  work  on  which  the 
swallows  have  been  busy  all  day,  i.e.  that  of 
chasing  and  catching  flies  and  gnats.  Any 
evening  when  it  is  warm  enough  for  them  to  be 
out  and  about  you  will  be  able  to  see  how  hard 
they  work.  How  they  flitter,  flutter,  dash,  and 
turn,  until  in  the  failing  light  it  makes  one 
almost  giddy  trying  to  keep  one's  eyes  on  the 
little  grey  forms  that  appear  and  disappear, 
whirling  round  one's  head,  vanishing  into  the 
shadows,  darting  out  again,  rustling  past  with 
beating  wings,  again  to  disappear  along  the 
hedgerow  or  round  the  rose-bushes.  But  as 
the  dusk  deepens  into  darkness,  as  it  becomes 
more  and  more  difficult  to  see,  when  only 
ghost-like  white  moths  can  be  made  out  in  the 
gloom,  when  the  brown  owl's  hoot  rings 
startlingly  loud  through  the  night,  it  will 
dawn  upon  you  that  the  rustling  wings  have 
gone,  that  the  high-pitched  squeaks  are  no 
longer  to  be  heard— in  short,  the  bats  have 
vanished  !  The  explanation  is  simple  enough. 
The  majority  of  bats  do  not  keep  on  the  wing  all 
night ;  they  only  fly  for  a  short  time  at  sundown 
and  at  dawn,  spending  the  night  in  their  snug 
homes,  generally  a  crevice  in  an  old  building  or 
a  hole  in  a  tree.  During  their  short  flights  they 
4 


BATS 

gorge  themselves  with  insects,  feeding  twice  in 
the  twenty-four  hours— a  good  supper  in  the 
evening,  a  good  breakfast  in  the  morning ;  but 
to  see  the  daybreak  flight  you  must  be  up 
early,  before  the  sun,  for  they  are  off  home  to 
their  hiding-places  as  soon  as  the  light  gets 
strong. 

When  watching  bats  on  the  wing,  the  first 
thing  that  strikes  you  is  that  there  are  big  and 
little  ones,  some  much  bigger  than  the  others, 
flying  straight  and  strong  like  birds  high  in 
the  sky,  while  the  medium-sized  ones  fly  lower, 
and  the  smallest  flitter  and  flutter  round  the 
bushes.  They  are  not  old  and  young  ones,  or 
anything  of  that  sort,  but  different  kinds, 
for  we  have  no  less  than  twelve  sorts  of 
bats  in  this  country.  The  commonest  are  the 
pipistrelle,  or  '  flitter-mouse,'  the  one  which 
seems  to  fly  so  weakly ;  the  noctule,  or  great 
bat,  the  high-flying  one,  which  is  much  bigger ; 
and  the  long-eared  bat,  which  is  of  a  medium 
size,  and  flies  in  and  out  about  the  trees.  The 
latter  can  be  known  at  once,  as  it  has  such 
very  long  ears,  almost  as  long  as  its  body ;  no 
other  British  bat  has  ears  anything  like  them. 
When  not  in  use  these  ears  are  curled  up  and 
tucked  back  under  the  wings  for  safety,  only 

5 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

a  piece  of  skin  or  membrane,  that  is  situated 
inside  the  ear,  and  looks  just  like  a  second  one, 
remaining  on  view.  This  false  ear  or  '  tragus '  is 
so  like  a  proper  ear  that  the  bat  looks  as  if  it 
had  a  second  pair.  It  is  only  while  the  owner 
is  asleep  that  the  real  ears  are  tucked  away ;  as 
soon  as  it  wakes  up  they  are  drawn  out,  uncurl, 
and  come  forward.  They  are  most  wonderfully 
sensitive  delicate  organs,  contracting  and  with- 
drawing, then  being  extended  again,  something 
after  the  manner  of  a  snail's  'feelers.'  For 
instance,  if  you  put  your  finger  near  one  of  these 
bats  it  will,  though  the  hand  has  not  touched 
it  and  it  could  not  have  seen  the  approaching 
finger,  draw  back  at  once  the  ear  on  that  side. 
As  the  long-eared  bat  is  fond  of  hunting  round 
trees,  and  in  and  out  between  the  branches,  its 
extraordinarily  sensitive  ears  must  be  a  great 
help  to  it,  enabling  it  to  dodge  between  the 
twigs  and  know  wh^re  the  moths  and  flies  are. 
It  undoubtedly  depends  chiefly  on  its  ears 
when  hunting,  though  it  has  a  pair  of  sharp 
keen  little  eyes  with  which  it  can  see  well. 
How  the  old  saying  c  blind  as  a  bat '  came  into 
being  I  cannot  think,  for  all  bats  can  see  well. 
Certainly  their  eyes  are  not  very  big,  but  they 
are  there  all  right,  and  are  thoroughly  useful 
6 


BATS 

No.  i.  Long-eared  Bats  asleep  :  note  the  long  ears  tucked  away 

No.  2.  Long-eared  Bats  awake  :  note  the  great  ears  waving  to  and  fro 

No.  3.  Pipistrelle  about  to  take  flight 

(Nos.  i  and  2  are  A  life  size.  No.  3  3  life  size) 


BATS 

eyes  too  !  But  such  strange  things  are  believed 
sometimes  that  it  is  no  wonder  that  mistaken 
ideas  get  about  concerning  little-known  crea- 
tures like  bats.  I  have  heard  girls  scream 
because  a  bat  flew  by  them  and  they  thought 
it  wanted  to  alight  on  their  head,  where  it 
would  get  entangled  in  their  hair  and  they 
would  never  get  it  out.  Of  course  the  idea  is 
pure  nonsense,  the  little  creature  being  even 
more  afraid  of  them  than  they  were  of  it,  and 
with  as  little  wish  to  get  tied  up  in  their  hair 
as  they  had  to  have  it  there.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  all  the  bats  found  in  this  country  are 
perfectly  harmless,  being  unable  to  hurt  any- 
thing bigger  than  an  insect.  Even  the  biggest, 
the  noctule,  could  not  hurt  one  much,  even 
if  it  tried,  for  its  teeth  are  not  big  enough  to 
do  any  real  damage.  A  fine  noctule  that  I  had 
taken  out  of  a  hole  in  a  tree  did  try  to  bite 
me,  snapping  angrily  at  my  fingers  like  a  little 
bull-dog,  but  even  it  did  not  draw  blood. 

It  is  usually  rather  difficult  to  find  the  hiding- 
places  where  bats  sleep,  but  this  noctule  let 
everybody  into  his  secret  by  falling  out  with 
his  friends.  I  was  walking  under  an  old 
willow  tree,  when  a  continuous  shrill  squeaking 
made  me  look  up.  It  undoubtedly  came  from 

7 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

above  and  it  was  as  undoubtedly  made  by  bats. 
There  were  two  or  three  holes  some  way  up 
the  tree  that  had  been  made  by  the  green- 
woodpecker,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  bats 
were  living  in  them.  I  soon  brought  a  ladder 
and  got  up  to  the  holes ;  the  squeaking  came 
from  one  of  them,  which  was  also  marked 
by  a  peculiar  musty  smell  which  belongs  to 
this  kind  of  bat.  It  sounded  like  a  family 
quarrel,  for  they  were  squeaking  most  furiously  : 
however,  they  talked  even  more  angrily  when, 
having  enlarged  the  hole  a  bit,  I  was  able  to 
put  my  hand  in  and  pull  them  out.  One  by  one 
I  popped  them  into  a  muslin  bag,  wherein  they 
were  safe  and  could  not  get  away,  for  I  wanted 
to  photograph  them,  which  was  the  reason  I 
had  taken  so  much  trouble  to  get  them  out. 
There  were  four  of  them,  one  being  a  brighter 
brown  in  colour  than  the  others.  This  was 
the  male,  the  other  three  being  females.  The 
ladies  were  duller,  their  soft  silky  fur  being  a 
subdued  brown.  They  were  all  about  the  same 
size,  having  a  wing  expanse  of  a  little  over 
fourteen  inches.  They  scrambled  about,  one 
over  the  other,  seeming  in  a  very  bad  temper 
at  the  fix  they  had  got  into,  snapping  and  biting 
and  squeaking  angrily.  At  last,  the  photographs 
8 


BATS 

having  been  taken,  I  was  able  to  let  them  go, 
when  they  darted  away  swiftly,  flying  high  up 
over  the  trees  and  soon  being  lost  to  sight; 
for  bats,  like  owls,  though  they  are  creatures 
of  the  night,  can  see  perfectly  well  in  the  day- 
time and  are  by  no  means  dazzled  by  sunlight. 
I  have  even  seen  a  long-eared  bat  hunting  in 
bright  sunshine  on  a  warm  spring  day.  It  was 
about  twelve  o'clock,  and  there  was  this  bat 
hawking  and  turning  and  twisting  as  happily  as 
if  it  were  evening ! 

Another  noctule  I  kept  for  some  days,  though 
all  bats  are  extremely  difficult  to  feed  and  look 
after.  It  was  brought  to  me  by  some  children 
who  had  found  it  in  a  sleepy  condition,  but 
when  brought  into  the  warm  room  it  began  to 
revive.  By  evening  it  was  quite  lively,  so  I 
tried  to  feed  it.  It  was  too  early  in  the  year 
to  get  any  insects,  so  I  offered  it  very  small  bits 
of  meat,  no  bigger  than  a  pin's  head,  on  a  pair  of 
forceps.  It  snapped  at  the  forceps,  seemingly 
from  anger  and  annoyance,  but  its  teeth  closed 
on  the  morsel  of  meat.  Finding  the  meat  in  its 
mouth  the  bat  turned  it  over  and  over,  chewed 
it  thoughtfully  for  some  minutes,  and  finally 
swallowed  it.  It  ate  three  more  bits,  then 
refused  morsel  after  morsel.  It  took  them 

9 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

off  the  forceps,  turned  them  over  in  its  mouth, 
spit  them  out,  or  wiped  them  off  its  tongue  on 
to  the  twig  on  which  it  was  sitting.  It  did 
it  something  after  the  manner  of  a  bird  wiping 
its  beak. 

It  is  wonderful  how  particular  bats  are  about 
their  fur,  licking  and  dressing  it  most  carefully 
with  their  tiny  pink  tongues;  indeed  they  are 
really  most  dainty  creatures,  and  I  became 
very  fond  of  a  tiny  pipistrelle  that  I  kept  for 
a  time  in  order  to  learn  something  of  its  ways. 
Though  some  people  think  bats  repulsive  crea- 
tures, any  one  who  had  watched  it  would  soon 
have  changed  their  opinion.  It  was  daintily 
clad  in  soft,  silky,  brown  fur,  which  was  an 
even  tint  above  and  below.  Its  movements 
were  very  quick,  and  it  could  run  like  a  mouse. 
It  could  move  almost  as  fast  backwards  as 
forwards,  indeed  when  climbing  up  a  stick 
seemed  to  prefer  to  shuffle  up  backwards.  Of 
course  it  is  no  hardship  to  a  bat  to  have  its 
head  lower  than  its  tail,  for  when  at  rest  they 
always  hitch  themselves  up  by  their  hind  feet 
and  hang  head  downwards.  At  first  this  bat 
was  much  annoyed  when  touched,  squeaking 
vigorously,  and  continuing  to  do  so  long  after 
the  offending  hand  had  been  taken  away.  As 
10 


BATS 

it  seemed  so  annoyed  I  left  it  alone,  and  having 
explored  the  cage  it  at  last  tucked  itself  away 
behind  a  dry  sod  of  earth  that  was  propped 
up  against  one  side.  This  was  October  llth, 
a  time  when  all  bats  are  preparing  for  their 
winter  sleep,  for  bats,  being  insect-feeders,  have 
to  hibernate  during  the  cold  months  when  flies 
are  not  to  be  had.  Some  of  them  sleep  through 
the  winter,  remaining  cold  and  unconscious  in 
their  hiding-places  from  October  to  April  until 
the  spring  weather  calls  them  to  life  again ;  but 
the  slumber  of  the  pipistrelle  is  not  so  sound, 
and  I  have  seen  them  on  the  wing  on  mild 
days  even  in  mid-winter.  For  instance,  in  1917 
I  saw  pipistrelles  out  hunting  on  November 
15th,  16th,  January  18th,  22nd,  and  25th. 
Like  all  animals  which  sleep  for  considerable 
periods,  bats  get  very  fat  in  the  autumn,  this 
store  of  fat  serving  them  in  the  place  of  food 
during  the  long  months  that  they  are  hidden 
away.  By  spring  it  is  all  used  up,  and  they 
have  become  quite  thin. 

My  little  pipistrelle  remained  cold  and  un- 
conscious for  three  days,  when  the  weather 
getting  warmer  it  woke  up.  I  made  a  collec- 
tion of  flies  and  spiders  and  tried  to  feed  it. 
It  snapped  at  a  big  bluebottle  and  munched 

11 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

it  up  with  great  relish,   but  stopped  eating 
whenever  it   heard  the   slightest   sound,   and 
seemed  very  shy  and  nervous.     It  would  not 
touch  the  spiders  nor  a  woodlouse,  and  I  after- 
wards found  that  it  did  not  like  either,  only 
eating  flies  with   any  enjoyment.     The   next 
evening  it  was  again  very  lively,  and  seemed 
much  less  afraid,  taking  flies  readily  from  my 
fingers.     It  would  only  eat  quite  fresh  ones,  and 
turned  away  in  disgust  from  those  that  had 
been  killed  the  day  before.     The  following  day 
it  was  even  tamer,  eating  happily  while  sitting 
on  my  hand,  which  much  increased  my  respect 
for  its   intelligence,   for   it   is   only   creatures 
which  have  brains  which  learn  by  experience, 
and  this  little  bat  had  already,  though  so  much 
afraid  at  first,  learnt  that  I  meant  it  no  harm 
and   that   it   could   trust   me.     It   no   longer 
squeaked  frantically  when  touched,  or  opened 
its  little   mouth  in   defiance.     Instead,  it  sat 
on  my  hand  eating  all  the  flies  that  it  could 
get.     Twelve  house  flies,  two  bluebottles,  one 
drone  fly  (that  large  brown  fly  which  looks 
just  like  a  hive  bee,  but  is  really  nothing  of  the 
sort),  and  a  large  gnat.     The  big  drone  fly  gave 
it  a  lot  of  trouble.     First  it  chewed  its  head  off 
and  dropped  the  body,  which  I  picked  up  and 
12 


BATS 

returned.  Then  it  ate  the  thorax,  taking  care 
to  let  the  wings  fall,  and  dropped  the  abdomen, 
which  I  picked  up,  when  it  finished  off  its  meal. 
In  one  case  when  it  dropped  part  of  a  fly  it 
began  to  search  my  hand  for  it  and  bit  me  quite 
hard  !  Of  course  its  tiny  teeth  could  not  make 
any  mark,  yet  it  gave  quite  a  respectable  pinch. 
It  appeared  to  smell  and  not  to  see  the  flies, 
and  no  doubt  it  was  the  scent  of  flies  on  my 
fingers  that  made  it  make  the  mistake.  It  was 
most  amusing  to  see  the  way  it  licked  its  lips 
with  its  tiny  pink  tongue  after  each  morsel, 
as  much  as  to  say,  '  Wasn't  that  good  ! '  All 
the  smaller  flies  were  eaten  up  completely  even 
to  the  wings,  but  in  the  case  of  the  larger  ones 
the  wings  were  bitten  off  and  dropped.  One 
of  its  troubles  when  eating  was  that  it  was 
not  used  to  dealing  with  flies  while  sitting  still. 
All  bats  feed  when  on  the  wing :  they  chase  their 
prey,  catch  it,  eat  it  then  and  there,  and  dash 
on  after  the  next  fly  or  gnat  as  the  case  may  be. 
It  sounds  rather  a  difficult  thing  to  dispose  of 
your  food  when  dashing  through  the  air  as  hard 
as  you  can  go,  and  it  is  by  no  means  easy  to 
see  how  bats  manage  it ;  but  if  you  watch  them 
carefully  when  they  are  hawking  to  and  fro 
you  will  get  some  idea  of  the  clever  way  in 

13 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

which  they  do  it.  First,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  skin  or  membrane  of  a  bat's  wing 
stretches  from  the  '  fingers  '  to  the  *  ankle  '  of 
the  hind  foot,  and  from  the  foot  to  the  tip  of 
the  tail.  When  the  tail  is  brought  forward 
under  the  body  the  skin  on  either  side  forms  a 
pouch  or  bag.  It  is  called  the  interfemoral 
membrane  and  the  interfemoral  pouch,  the 
word  '  interfemoral '  really  meaning  '  between 
the  thighs.'  Now  when  a  bat  is  flying  along 
and  grabs  an  insect  it  drops  its  head  down 
into  its  pouch,  where  its  prey  cannot  escape, 
and,  still  flying,  crunches  it  up.  The  whole 
thing  is  done  so  quickly  that  it  is  very  hard  to 
follow,  but  when  watching  bats  in  the  twilight 
you  will  often  see  them  make  a  dash  after  an 
insect,  and  then  apparently  tumble  through 
the  air  for  a  foot  or  two.  This  is  when  the 
pouching  is  taking  place,  and  if  you  are  very 
sharp-eyed  you  may  even  see  more  or  less 
what  the  bat  does.  My  little  pipistrelle  had 
hitherto  caught  and  pouched  all  its  food  when 
on  the  wing,  and  from  habit  felt  compelled 
to  try  and  pouch  the  flies  I  gave  it,  though 
sitting  in  an  attitude  that  made  this  almost 
impossible.  The  result  was  that  time  after 
time  it  tumbled  over,  and  would  right  itself 
14 


BATS 

with  such  a  puzzled  and  bewildered  look ! 
However,  the  difficulty  of  doing  the  proper 
thing  did  not  stop  it  eating.  It  had  a  tre- 
mendous appetite,  and  I  was  hopeful  of  keeping 
it  safely  through  the  winter  and  letting  it  go 
again  in  the  spring.  Insects  were  now  scarce 
out  of  doors,  but  in  an  attic  window  I  could 
find  plenty  of  flies.  The  bat  made  nothing  of 
twenty  to  thirty  at  a  meal,  and  one  evening 
ate  no  less  than  fifty  !  They  were  chiefly  house 
flies  and  '  greenbottles.'  It  was  decidedly 
6  full-fed  '  and  sleepy  after  this  meal.  It  was 
now  November,  when  it  ought  to  have  been 
hibernating,  and  to  get  it  to  go  to  sleep  I  kept 
it  in  an  unheated  room,  but  day  after  day 
it  continued  lively.  Sometimes  it  would  hang 
itself  up  in  a  corner  of  its  cage,  and,  resting 
head  downwards,  with  wings  tucked  to  its 
sides,  sleep  for  twenty-four  hours,  but  the 
middle  of  November  came  without  it  really 
hibernating.  Then  a  day  passed,  and  another, 
and  it  remained  quiet  in  its  corner.  I  thought 
it  was  really  asleep  at  last,  and  that  I  should 
get  it  through  the  winter  all  right,  but  alas  !  the 
sleep  was  too  sound  !  Something  about  the 
little  form  made  me  suspicious:  I  touched  it 
and  found  it  cold  with  a  chilliness  which  was 

15 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

not  that  of  the  lowered  temperature  of  the 
winter  sleep — the  poor  little  pipistrelle  was 
dead! 

Though  most  bats  are  gregarious  in  the 
summer — that  is  to  say,  live  together  in  parties 
sometimes  numbering  scores,  and  even  hun- 
dreds— yet  in  the  winter  they  prefer  solitude  and 
quiet.  They  go  off  singly,  or  at  the  most  in 
twos  and  threes,  to  snug  holes  and  crevices  in 
rocks,  old  buildings,  and  trees.  An  example  of 
this  was  the  thirteen  long-eared  bats  found  in 
a  barn ;  with  two  exceptions,  where  there 
were  couples  together,  they  were  hidden  singly 
under  the  rafters.  As  this  was  in  mid- October 
there  is  no  doubt  these  were  their  hibernating 
quarters.  I  kept  one  of  them  for  a  few  days 
so  as  to  learn  something  of  its  habits.  It  was 
really  a  beautiful  little  animal,  with  its  silky 
grey  fur,  quaint  face,  and  long  sensitive  ears, 
which  seemed  to  throb  and  quiver  with  life. 
There  is  a  row  of  stiffish  hairs  along  the  outer 
margins  of  the  ears  which,  after  watching  this 
bat,  I  am  inclined  to  think  is  a  help  to  it  in 
threading  its  way  among  twigs  and  leaves. 
Like  the  pipistrelle,  the  long-eared  bat  soon 
learnt  to  take  flies  well.  The  first  that  I 
offered  it,  a  greenbottle,  it  grabbed  eagerly, 
16 


BATS 

bobbed  its  head  down  and  tried  to  pouch  it, 
then  chewed  it  up,  rejecting  the  wings  and  legs. 
At  this  first  meal  it  took  no  less  than  fifteen 
flies,  in  nearly  all  cases  dropping  the  wings 
and  legs.  '  Jimmie,'  as  I  called  him,  had 
quite  as  good,  if  not  a  better  appetite  than  the 
pipistrelle,  eating  for  his  second  meal  over 
fifty  flies !  He  grabbed  them  all  greedily, 
spreading  out  his  wings  and  trying  to  pouch 
them  in  his  tail  pouch,  often  over-balancing 
in  his  effort  to  do  that  which  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  doing.  He  would  grab  the  fly  and 
drop  it  into  his  pouch,  and  therein  get  a  fresh 
and  better  hold  of  it,  after  which  it  was  eaten 
in  the  ordinary  manner.  He  would  run 
towards  me  for  flies  when  they  were  held  an 
inch  or  two  away  from  him,  but  I  could  not  be 
sure  whether  he  saw  or  smelt  them.  He  got 
quite  indifferent  to  being  touched,  and  would 
go  on  happily  munching  while  I  stroked  him. 
After  keeping  Jimmie  for  several  days  I  took 
him  to  a  loft  and  let  him  go,  as  I  hoped  he  would 
there  find  a  safe  hiding-place.  I  was  afraid  to 
keep  him  any  longer,  for  flies  were  growing 
scarce,  and,  with  the  pipistrelle's  fate  as  a 
warning,  I  knew  I  could  not  give  him  all  he 
would  want.  All  the  people  who  have  tried 

B  17 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

to  keep  bats,  so  as  to  find  out  more  about  their 
ways  and  habits,  have  experienced  the  same 
difficulty  in  keeping  them  alive  and  well. 
Whether  it  is  a  question  of  not  getting  the  right 
food,  want  of  exercise,  or  what,  I  cannot  say, 
but  it  is  impossible  to  get  a  bat  to  live  for  long 
in  a  cage.  So  if  you  should  come  across  a  bat, 
do  not  shut  up  the  poor  little  creature,  but 
after  finding  out  all  you  can  about  it  let  it  go 
again.  There  is  plenty  to  learn  about  bats, 
for  really,  compared  with  other  animals,  we 
know  so  little  of  their  habits. 

Take  the  matter  of  their  young :  how  many 
people  have  seen  a  baby  bat,  or  can  tell  you 
what  one  is  like  ?  Most  of  the  British  bats 
have  only  a  single  baby  at  a  time,  though 
abroad  it  is  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception 
for  two  little  ones  to  be  born.  They  are 
naked  pink  mites  at  first,  but  have  wonderful 
powers  of  clinging,  clutching  to  their  mother's 
fur,  and  never  letting  go  until  some  weeks 
old.  The  mother  suckles  her  baby  just  like  any 
other  animal,  for  bats  are  mammals,  which 
means  they  suckle  their  young.  Wherever  the 
old  bat  goes  she  carries  her  little  one  with  her, 
and  is  quite  at  a  loss  what  to  do  if  anything 
happens  and  she  parts  with  it.  Clinging  to  her 

18 


BATS 

side,  safe  under  her  wing,  it  is  snug  and  warm 
while  its  coat  comes  and  it  grows  and  develops. 
As  young  bats  are  generally  born  in  the  middle 
of  the  summer,  they  are  full  grown  and  able 
to  look  after  themselves  before  the  time  comes 
for  the  winter  sleep. 

Some  bats  separate  for  the  winter,  like  the 
long-eared  bats  I  have  mentioned,  but  others 
congregate  in  large  numbers.  This  is  especially 
the  case  with  those  kinds  that  like  caves,  such 
as  the  horse-shoe  bats,  of  which  more  by  and  by. 
There  are  some  caves  which  have  been  used  by 
bats  for  countless  years,  and  their  droppings 
have  accumulated  until  they  are  a  thick  mass 
on  the  floor.  If  you  look  at  a  heap  such  as 
this,  you  will  be  able  to  form  an  idea  of  what 
bats  feed  upon,  for  it  is  made  up  of  the  un- 
digested hard  parts  of  insects,  chewed  wings, 
wing  cases  of  small  beetles,  insects'  legs,  all 
broken  up  and  difficult  to  distinguish,  but  un- 
mistakably belonging  to  insects.  It  is  the 
search  for  good  roosting-places  that  sometimes 
makes  bats  come  into  the  house. 

The  long-eared  bat  is  the  one  which  so  often 
gets  into  the  rooms  in  an  evening,  for  when 
hunting  round  the  house  for  insects  it  is  apt 
to  dart  in  at  any  open  window,  only  to  cause 

19 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

excitement  that  is  too  foolish  considering 
what  a  harmless  little  thing  it  really  is. 
However  frightened  the  people  are,  the  poor 
bat  is  more  terrified,  as  it  is  chased  here  and 
there  as  they  try  to  drive  it  out.  It  is  won- 
derful how  these  bats  can  dodge,  turn,  and 
twist.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  catch  one 
with  a  butterfly  net,  and  I  have  often  tried  for 
twenty  minutes  or  more  before  getting  it. 
Whatever  the  wing  power  of  the  long-eared  bat, 
it  is  nothing  to  that  of  the  great  bat  or  noctule. 
It  flies  more  like  a  swallow  than  a  bat.  I  never 
see  one  of  these  bats  darting  across  the  sky 
without  thinking  of  the  summer  evening  when 
I  had  been  fishing  on  some  large  ponds  that 
lay  in  a  wooded  valley.  Just  as  the  light  be- 
gan to  fade,  numbers  of  swifts  came  hawking 
for  insects  over  the  pools,  and  it  was  extra- 
ordinary how  loud  the  rushing  of  their  wings 
sounded  on  the  still  air.  Their  flying  was  a 
marvel  to  watch.  At  the  *  edge  of  night ' 
noctules  appeared  among  them,  swooping  and 
turning  like  the  swifts,  but  flying  with  the 
highest — this  was  about  10.30  P.M.  (summer 
time) — and  as  it  grew  a  little  darker  the  birds 
vanished  and  only  bats  were  left.  There 
were  hundreds  of  them  dashing  to  and  fro 
20 


BATS 

in  splendid  style.  As  the  shadows  deepened 
over  the  pool  other  bats  came  out.  A  number 
of  swift-flying  bats  skimmed  low  along  the 
surface  of  the  water,  which  they  frequently 
dipped  into  like  swallows  on  a  summer  after- 
noon.1 Near  the  shore  little  flitter-mice  flut- 
tered up  and  down,  and  shapes  that  appeared 
and  disappeared  among  the  trees  that  over- 
hung the  water  were  certainly  long-eared  bats. 
But  the  flight  did  not  last  long;  by  10.55  the 
noctules  were  getting  less,  and  in  a  little  while 
had  all  gone.  The  little  pipistrelles  were  left 
last,  for  these  small  bats  stay  longer  on  the 
wing  than  the  big  ones,  and  sometimes  even 
stay  out  all  night  when  other  bats  are  resting 
to  be  ready  for  the  morning's  hunting.  It  was 
a  wonderful  sight  to  see  all  these  bats  flying 
about  together ;  and  the  pool  in  the  twilight, 
backed  with  the  shadowy  purple  woods,  re- 
flecting the  crimson  sunset  dyed  sky,  with  the 
hosts  of  first  swifts  and  then  bats  turning 
and  wheeling  against  it,  was  a  thing  to 
remember. 

I  have  already  said  that  there  are  no  less 
than  twelve  different  kinds  of  bats  in  this 
country.  Perhaps  the  strangest  looking  are 

1  Almost  certainly  Danbenton's  Bat,  a  water-loving  species. 

21 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

the  two  horse-shoe  bats,  known  as  the  greater 
and  the  lesser.  They  both  have  '  nose-leafs,' 
which  make  them  look  as  if  they  carried  tiny 
horse-shoes  in  front  of  their  faces.  It  is  to 
this  quaint  decoration  that  they  owe  their 
name.  They  are  chiefly  found  in  the  south  of 
England  and  are  not  very  common.  The 
whiskered  bat  is  a  small  grey-coloured  bat, 
about  the  same  size  as  the  pipistrelle.  It  is 
fairly  common,  and  may  be  seen  flying  with  it 
in  almost  any  garden.  But  any  evening  that 
you  go  out  just  when  the  light  is  fading  you 
may  be  certain  of  seeing  the  pipistrelle  and  the 
long-eared  bat  hawking  round  the  house  and 
up  and  down  the  garden,  for  there  are  few 
buildings  where  these  two  common  bats  cannot 
manage  to  find  a  snug  hiding-place.  Of  the 
other  six  bats  there  is  not  much  to  say,  for  they 
are  uncommon  and  not  likely  to  be  met  with, 
but  this  is  not  such  a  great  loss,  for  they  are 
not  a  bit  more  interesting  than  those  which  we 
can  see  and  watch  any  warm  quiet  evening. 

(The  twelve  species  of  British  bats  are  as  follows  : 
Rhinolophus  ferrum-equinum,  and  R.  hipposideros, 
the  Greater  and  Lesser  Horse-shoe  Bats;  Myotis 
daubentonii,  M.  mystacinus,  M.  nattereri,  M.  bechsteinii 
are  respectively  Daubenton's  Bat,  usually  found  near 
22 


BATS 

water,  the  Whiskered  Bat,  a  not  uncommon  species, 
Natterer's  Bat,  which  is  not  often  met  with,  and 
Bechstein's  Bat,  which  is  rare.  Pipistrellus  pipistrel- 
Itis  is  the  common  little  '  flitter-mouse  ' ;  Eptesicus 
serotinus,  the  Serotine,  is  very  rare  in  England ;  as 
is  Leisler's  Bat,  Nyctalus  leiskri ;  but  N.  noctula,  the 
Great  Bat  or  Noctule,  is  one  of  our  commonest 
species.  Also  plentiful  is  Plecotus  auritus,  the  Long- 
eared  Bat,  but  the  Barbastelle,  Barbastella  barbastellus, 
is  very  seldom  found.) 


23 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   BANK  VOLE 

IF  you  see  a  little  red  creature  running  hurriedly 
along  the  bank  of  the  garden  hedge,  or  scurrying 
away  through  the  undergrowth,  you  may  be 
sure  it  was  a  bank  vole,  or  red  mouse.     It  has 
been  called  the  '  bank  '  vole  because  it  likes 
woods,  hedgerows,  and  sheltered  places,  and 
does  not  care  for  the  open  fields  like  its  relation 
the  little  short-tailed  field  vole.     Out  in  the 
open  there  are  so  many  enemies  to  be  feared ; 
the  keen-eyed  kestrel  hovering  high  overhead 
keeps  watch  by  day  for  all  the  wee  creatures 
that  move  beneath  him,  and  by  night  there 
are   the   different   owls,   hunting   silently  like 
winged  cats,  and  which  like  nothing  better  than 
a   poor   little   mouse.     The   other   name,    red 
mouse,  refers  to  its  colour,  which  is  a  very 
pretty  bright  red-brown.     Before  going  further 
I  had  better  explain  that  the  words  '  vole  ' 
and   '  mouse  '   mean  the  same  thing,   but  in 
books  on  animals  it  is  usual  to  write  of  the 
24 


THE  BANK  VOLE 

short-tailed,  long-furred,  short-eared  mice,  as 
voles,  and  of  the  slim,  long-tailed,  thin-coated, 
big-eared,  big-eyed  mice,  as  mice.  There  are 
several  kinds  of  each  in  England,  but  of  the 
voles  the  bank  vole  is  far  the  prettiest.  It  is 
really  a  sweet  little  creature,  so  bright  and 
smart  in  its  red  coat,  white  under-parts,  with 
its  little  prick  ears  and  beady  bright  eyes. 
It  has  little  wee  paws  just  like  tiny  hands,  with 
which  it  is  constantly  washing  itself.  I  have 
watched  a  bank  vole  sit  up  on  its  hind  legs, 
lick  its  paws,  run  them  over  its  head,  lick 
them  again,  rub  its  head  again,  and  repeat 
this  again  and  again,  just  like  a  cat  washing  her 
face,  until  at  last  it  was  satisfied  that  even  the 
backs  of  its  ears  were  thoroughly  cleaned. 
Then  it  twisted  round  and  began  to  lick  its 
back,  parting  the  fur  with  its  paws  so  as  to 
get  down  to  the  very  roots.  Bit  by  bit  it  was 
all  gone  over,  after  which  it  turned  its  attention 
to  its  stomach,  licking  carefully  with  its  tiny 
pink  tongue  the  greyish-white  fur,  and  parting 
it  too  so  as  to  get  at  the  under-part,  when  it 
showed  the  greyish  roots,  for  the  hair,  though 
white  at  the  top,  is  grey  underneath.  Having 
finished  its  *  waistcoat,'  it  worked  on  lower 
down,  and  finally  picked  up  its  tail  and 

25 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

cleaned  it  too  from  root  to  tip.  Finished  at 
last,  it  sat  up,  looked  round,  listened  for  a 
moment,  took  alarm  at  some  slight  sound,  and 
was  gone  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell. 
When  a  mouse  is  frightened  it  does  one  of  two 
things :  it  either  dashes  for  home  and  shelter, 
trying  to  reach  cover  before  its  foe  is  upon  it, 
or  it  c  freezes  '  where  it  is,  keeping  quite  still 
until  the  danger  is  past,  hoping  that  it  will  not 
be  seen,  and  trusting  to  the  colour  of  its  coat 
to  hide  it.  The  red-brown  fur  matches  the 
soil,  dead  leaves,  and  withered  grass  wonderfully 
well,  so  that  the  vole  is  very  difficult  to  see 
while  it  keeps  still.  It  is  lost,  has  become 
merely  a  bit  earth,  a  broken  clod,  and  the 
likeness  is  helped  by  its  white  under-parts, 
which  do  away  with  the  dark  shadow  that  its 
body  would  otherwise  cast.  Even  the  keen- 
eyed  kestrel  will  be  deceived,  but  woe  to  the 
mouse  if  it  moves  too  soon  !  Out  of  the  sky 
will  fall  the  hawk,  dropping  like  a  stone  on  its 
prey,  and  that  vole  will  be  gone  from  its  home 
for  ever. 

That  it  is  danger  from  above  which  all  mice 
fear  most  was  well  shown  when  I  kept  three 
bank  voles  in  a  large  glass-sided  cage.  They 
did  not  take  any  notice  of  things  moving  beside 


THE  BANK  VOLE 

them,  but  the  slightest  thing  overhead  sent 
them  dashing  for  cover  or  made  them  crouch 
like  stones  where  they  were.  The  cage  was 
arranged  to  be  as  much  like  part  of  a  bank  as 
possible.  There  was  soil,  stones,  and  turfs  in 
it,  and  leaves  and  dry  grass  for  bedding. 
There  were  three  voles,  two  small  and  one  big 
one.  The  latter,  a  male,  did  not  seem  to  think 
it  necessary  to  be  polite  to  the  ladies,  for 
when  the  three  were  put  into  their  new  home 
they  at  once  began  to  fight.  It  was  such  a 
scrimmage  that  I  thought  they  would  hurt 
one  another,  but  after  watching  them  for  a  bit 
could  see  there  was  a  good  deal  of  bluff  about 
the  fighting.  They  would  stand  opposite  each 
other  squeaking  furiously,  and  from  the  noise 
it  sounded  as  if  they  meant  murder,  but  they 
never  came  to  actual  grips— the  worst  that 
happened  was  for  one  to  push  at  the  other 
with  its  fore  paws.  Once  the  big  mouse 
knocked  one  of  the  little  ones  over  (as  I  have 
said,  he  was  quite  a  Hun ;  he  had  no  manners  at 
all  where  the  ladies  were  concerned),  but  she 
made  no  attempt  to  get  up — she  simply  lay 
where  she  was,  and  struck  out  with  both  fore 
and  hind  feet,  c  combing  the  hair  '  of  the  bully 
with  great  effect. 

27 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

Even  after  they  had  settled  down  in  their 
new  home  their  manners  did  not  improve :  they 
quarrelled    over    everything,    and    sometimes 
over  nothing.     Food  was  a  constant  source  of 
trouble.     One  day  I  dropped  a  bit  of  bread  into 
the  cage,  which  was  soon  found  by  a  small 
mouse.     She  picked  it  up,  and  holding  it  in  her 
paws  began  to  eat  it,  but  had  hardly  had  time 
to  gnaw  more  than  a  mouthful  or  two  when 
out  came  a  second  vole.     She  did  not  wait  to 
see  what  number  two  would  do,  but  reared  on 
her  hind  legs  and  squeaked ;  so  did  number  two, 
though  it  had  not  seen  the  '  find '  the  first  was  so 
anxious  to  keep.     Like  two  boxers,  they  came 
nearer  to  each  other.     Round  and  round  they 
went,  prodding  now  and  again  at  one  another. 
They  were  far  too  intent  on  each  other  to 
see  that  the  big  mouse  had  come  out ;  he  looked 
at  them,  sniffed  the  bread,  picked  it  up,  and 
scuttled  off  to  the  nest,  where  no  doubt  he 
ate  it  quietly  while  the  others  went  on  with 
their  fight.     They  squeaked  at  one  another, 
and  if  it  was  not  swear  words  it  sounded  like 
it;  they  pushed  and  shoved  each  other  about, 
they  fought  up  and  down  the  cage,  until  at 
last  one  turned  tail  and  ran.     After  her  raced 
the  other,  bringing  her  to  bay  in  the  corner  of 

28 


THE  BANK  VOLE 

the  cage,  but  here  she  turned  on  number  two 
with  such  effect  that  it  in  its  turn  ran  away. 
Suddenly  it  dawned  upon  them  that  the  bread 
had  disappeared,  that  which  they  were  fighting 
for  had  gone  !  They  stood  for  the  moment 
looking  very  foolish  little  mice,  then  they  dis- 
appeared into  the  nest.  In  a  second  or  two 
the  squeaking  began  again ;  they  had  found  the 
thief  and  what  was  left  of  the  bread  !  Out 
of  the  nest  he  rushed  with  a  bit  of  the  bread 
still  in  his  mouth.  Round  the  cage  he  ran  with 
his  spoils,  followed  by  the  two  females,  who 
had  forgotten  their  quarrels  and  made  friends 
in  their  anxiety  to  revenge  themselves  on  the 
thief.  Up  and  down  they  raced,  the  big  vole 
turning  every  now  and  then  to  squeak  at  those 
which  chased  him,  but  his  mouth  being  full 
he  could  only  make  funny  little  muffled  sounds. 
The  end  of  it  all  was  that  the  bread  fell  to  pieces, 
and  each  grabbed  a  bit  and  ate  it  up. 

For  many  of  their  fights  and  quarrels  there 
seemed  no  reason  at  all,  neither  why  they 
should  start  or  stop,  so  that  I  thought  it  was 
just  idleness  and  want  of  something  better  to 
do ;  in  fact,  I  believe,  they  enjoyed  it  very 
much.  There  were  some  more  mice  in  another 
cage  next  door  to  them,  which  also  fell  out 

29 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

sometimes.  When  the  bank  voles  heard  a 
squeak  they  would  rush  out  of  their  nest, 
glance  here  and  there,  eager  for  the  fray,  and 
evidently  thinking  that  strangers  had  invaded 
their  quarters.  After  watching  one  of  them 
sit  up  with  pricked  ears  and  listen  to  the 
quarrelling  next  door,  one  could  not  doubt 
that,  like  the  Irishman,  they  loved  a  shindy. 
Once  being  short  of  a  cage  for  a  newly  captured 
bank  vole,  I  put  it  in  with  the  three,  but  they 
went  for  it  with  such  fury,  and  all  three  at  once, 
that  I  had  to  take  it  out  again  for  fear  they 
should  kill  it. 

Despite  their  bad  temper  the  three  bank 
voles  shared  one  bed.  They  scratched  a  hole 
under  a  sod  of  grass  and  carried  into  it  leaves, 
dry  grass,  and  fibre,  which  they  shredded  up 
until  it  was  very  fine  and  made  a  most  warm 
and  comfortable  lining.  It  was  most  interest- 
ing to  watch  them  gathering  bedding  material. 
A  mouse  would  come  out,  look  about  it,  sniff 
the  air,  and  then  begin  to  gather  up  any 
rubbish  that  might  be  lying  around,  until  it 
had  a  bundle.  The  way  the  sorting  into  a 
bunch  of  equal  lengths  was  done  was  quite 
funny,  for  the  vole  held  the  bundle  against  its 
stomach  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  a  man 
30 


THE  BANK  VOLE 

sorting  straw  for  thatching  holds  his  straw.  If 
you  have  seen  this  done  you  will  know  exactly 
how  the  mouse  went  to  work.  As  soon  as  a 
mouthful  had  been  collected,  the  vole  took  the 
bundle  in  its  jaws  and  ran  home  with  it ;  but  if 
it  found  any  difficulty  in  getting  the  stuff  down 
the  entrance  hole,  it  at  once  turned  round  and 
dragged  its  load  hi  backwards,  when  it  generally 
went  quite  easily. 

All  food  not  wanted  for  eating  at  once  was 
also  taken  into  the  nest  or  buried.  It  was 
really  sad  to  see  the  trouble  a  vole  would  take 
to  hide  away  any  particularly  nice  piece  of 
food,  only  to  have  it  stolen  a  few  moments  later. 
One  day  the  smallest  of  the  three  found  a  bit 
of  walnut  that  had  not  been  noticed  by  the 
other  two.  Appearing  highly  delighted  with 
her  find,  she  picked  it  up  but  did  not  seem  to 
know  quite  what  to  do  with  it.  She  looked 
towards  the  nest,  listening  and  hesitating,  but 
the  others  were  sleeping  peacefully  inside. 
This  being  so,  the  usual  store  corner  by  the 
sleeping- place  was  no  use,  so,  after  sitting  up 
and  thinking,  she  carried  the  piece  of  nut  to  the 
far  end  of  the  cage — farthest,  that  is,  from  her 
friends — dropped  it,  and  began  to  scratch  in  the 
loose  soil.  I  think  she  wanted  to  dig  a  hole, 

31 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

but  the  soil  was  so  loose  that  it  fell  in  as 
she  worked,  so  that  she  was  soon  quite  buried, 
though  all  the  time  flinging  out  a  little  shower 
of  sand  with  her  rapidly  moving  hind  feet. 
The  nut  fell  in  with  tumbling  soil,  and  was 
covered  by  it.  A  minute  later  the  vole  backed 
out,  covered  with  dust  and  earth,  but  a  good 
shake  threw  off  the  bits,  leaving  her  as  smart 
as  ever.  She  looked  round  for  her  treasure, 
which  had  gone,  but  she  seemed  to  understand 
what  had  become  of  it,  probably  smelling  where 
it  was  buried,  for  after  sniffing  at  the  spot  she 
ran  away,  caught  hold  with  her  teeth  of  a 
lettuce  leaf,  and  pulled  it  to  the  place  where  the 
nut  was  hidden.  Then  she  dragged  another 
up,  also  to  cover  the  spot,  then  another,  and 
yet  another,  until  five  leaves  were  piled  one 
above  the  other.  Even  then  she  was  not 
satisfied.  She  stood  and  looked  at  her  work 
for  a  second,  then  turned  her  back  on  it  and 
began  to  scratch  up  the  sandy  soil  and  throw 
it  over  the  heap.  Her  fore  legs  went  up  and 
down,  and  the  earth  flew  out  between  her  hind 
ones  in  a  pattering  stream,  then  as  suddenly  as 
she  had  begun  she  stopped,  turned  round, 
and  looked  at  her  work.  No,  the  result  was 
not  perfect  yet !  She  went  close  to  the  pile  and 
32 


THE  BANK  VOLE 

began  to  push  and  poke  the  soil  into  place  with 
her  nose,  just  as  a  dog  does  when  it  is  burying 
a  bone.  Then  the  little  bank  vole  stopped, 
looking  towards  the  nest  and  listening  with 
pricked  ears,  but  the  others  were  still  quiet,  so 
off  she  ran,  picked  up  an  empty  nutshell,  and 
brought  it  to  the  heap.  Next  she  found  the 
skin  of  a  sweet  chestnut,  then  two  or  three 
other  odds  and  ends,  and  so  she  worked  on, 
busily  adding  to  the  pile  which  was  to  keep  her 
precious  piece  of  nut  safe  from  the  other  voles ; 
but  at  last  there  came  a  stir  and  rustle  from  the 
sleeping-place,  at  which  she  darted  away  from 
the  heap,  scurrying  to  the  opposite  side  of  the 
cage,  where  she  sat  up  and  washed  her  face  in 
the  most  innocent  way.  At  lightning  speed 
her  paws  passed  over  her  head,  and  down  her 
body,  after  which,  as  the  other  mice  came  out, 
she  strolled  quietly  to  the  nest  hole,  seeming  as 
if  she  said,  c  There  is  nothing  to  interest  you 
two  out  here  !  ' 

Alas  !  no  sooner  had  the  little  vole  gone 
home  to  rest,  than  the  biggest  mouse  began 
to  sniff  about  the  cage,  his  keen  nose  reading 
the  tale  of  what  had  been  done.  He  smelt  the 
heap  over  carefully,  began  to  scratch  at  its 
side,  and  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  had 

c  33 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

made  a  hole  under  the  pile,  and  was  backing 
out  again  with  the  walnut  in  his  mouth. 
There  and  then  he  sat  up,  and  while  the  owner 
slept  happily  in  the  nest  he  took  it  in  his  paws 
and  nibbled  away  at  it  until  it  was  all  gone. 
All  her  labour  had  been  thrown  away  ! 

I  do  not  think  these  mice  really  minded  very 
much  when  their  hoards  were  taken.  They 
had  more  food  than  they  could  eat  and  their 
memories  were  not  very  good,  so  the  things 
they  had  buried  were  soon  forgotten,  and  in  the 
case  of  corn,  unless  dug  up  by  chance,  was 
left  until  it  sprouted.  Of  course  in  a  wild 
state  hunger  might  prompt  their  memories, 
for  in  the  winter  the  wee  creatures  of  the 
countryside  are  often  hard  pressed  for  anything 
to  eat.  In  the  autumn  most  of  the  mice  lay 
by  stores  in  their  tunnels  to  provide  against  the 
bad  times  of  winter.  No  mouse  works  harder 
at  this  than  the  bank  vole ;  anything  it  does 
not  want  at  the  moment  is  carried  home — 
berries,  nuts,  and  grain  are  hidden  in  the  holes. 
How  hard  it  will  work  was  shown  when  I 
dropped  a  handful  of  barley  into  the  cage 
where  my  voles  lived.  One  of  them  soon 
came  out,  sniffed  at  the  grain,  picked  up  a 
mouthful  and  carried  it  off.  In  fifteen  minutes 
34 


THE  BANK  VOLE 

it  took  away  seventy- five  grains  of  corn,  making 
eighteen  journeys  in  all.  Four  pieces  of  barley 
were  the  most  it  could  manage  comfortably  in 
its  mouth  at  one  time,  but  it  would  try  and 
carry  more,  when  they  fell  out  at  the  corners 
of  its  mouth,  and  it  had  to  pick  them  up  and 
push  them  in  again,  which  it  would  do  several 
times  over.  The  first  .t*wo  loads  it  buried  in  the 
soil,  scratching  holes,  dropping  the  grain  in, 
and  then  scraping  the  earth  back  again,  but 
the  rest  were  taken  down  one  of  the  tunnels,  and 
judging  by  the  little  time  it  wasted  the  vole 
must  simply  have  dropped  the  corn  and  not 
bothered  to  cover  it  up.  Its  way  of  picking  up 
the  grain  was  to  take  each  piece  up  in  its 
teeth,  and  then  push  it  well  into  its  mouth 
with  its  paws.  The  biggest  mouthful  I  saw 
it  push  in  was  seven  pieces  of  corn,  when  its 
cheeks  simply  bulged  !  Any  grains  that  were 
dropped  when  loading  up  were  carefully  picked 
up  again  and  not  left  lying  about.  Another 
vole  working  in  an  extra  hurry  managed  to 
carry  off  twenty-one  loads  in  ten  minutes, 
taking  ninety-one  grains  home  in  the  time ;  but 
this  was  beaten  when  a  mouse  took  home 
twenty-three  loads  without  a  pause  between 
them,  and  then,  after  resting  for  a  moment, 

35 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

went  on  again,  making  altogether  forty-two 
journeys  in  which  it  hid  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  grains  of  barley  ! 

This  gives  some  idea  of  what  the  red  bank 
vole  can  do,  for  it  is  really  a  most  mischievous 
little  creature,  eating  and  spoiling  great  quan- 
tities of  stuff  in  our  fields  and  gardens.  It  is 
not  at  all  particular  what  it  eats ;  it  likes  all 
kinds  of  grain,  including  wheat,  barley,  oats, 
peas  and  beans,  fruit,  such  as  apples,  pears, 
strawberries,  gooseberries,  and  plums,  nuts  of 
every  sort,  including  walnuts  and  sweet  chest- 
nuts, acorns,  berries  like  those  of  the  wild 
rose  and  hawthorn,  and  even  green  food,  such 
as  lettuce  leaves,  the  young  blades  of  barley, 
wheat,  and  oats,  and  dandelion,  of  which  it  is 
very  fond.  To  get  the  hips  and  haws  in  the 
autumn  it  will  climb  up  the  bushes,  running 
out  to  the  very  tips  of  the  branches  to  get  the 
berries,  for  it  is  quite  at  home  up  aloft  and  has 
no  fear  of  falling.  Very  often  it  carries  the 
fruit  to  some  old  bird's  nest  to  eat,  which  is  the 
reason  that  in  the  autumn  one  so  often  sees 
disused  nests  full  of  scarlet  bits.  These  nests 
serve  as  the  dining  tables  for  all  the  different 
mice  that  like  hips  and  haws.  Sometimes  in 
the  spring,  when  the  bank  vole  climbs  into 
36 


BANK  VOLES 

No.  i.   '  Stolen  Goods  No.  2.  '  On  the  Alert 

(about  i  life  size) 


THE  BANK  VOLE 

the  bushes  in  search  of  any  odds  and  ends  of 
berries  that  may  have  been  missed  during  the 
winter,  it  will  come  across  a  new  bird's  nest, 
when  it  will  make  short  work  either  of  eggs  or 
young  ones,  for  this  pretty  little  vole  does  not, 
when  it  gets  the  chance,  mind  eating  flesh— it 
will  even  eat  its  own  friends !  In  short,  it  is 
not  above  being  a  cannibal !  Really  there  is 
very  little  the  bank  vole  will  not  eat,  and  when 
it  becomes  plentiful  it  is  a  serious  nuisance. 
Once  in  a  way,  generally  after  a  mild  winter 
and  a  warm  dry  spring,  all  the  different  kinds 
of  mice  begin  to  increase  in  numbers — bank 
voles,  field  voles,  and  long-tailed  mice  get 
more  and  more  numerous.  Family  after  family 
of  little  mice  are  brought  up  and  started  out 
into  the  world,  and  in  a  very  short  time  are 
bringing  up  families  of  their  own.  The  owls, 
hawks,  foxes,  and  cats  catch  and  eat  mice 
until  they  are  sick  of  them,  and  still  the  mice 
go  on  increasing.  They  eat  everything,  even 
the  bark  off  young  trees,  and  in  gardens  and 
allotments  clear  all  things  before  them.  This 
is  what  is  called  a  'vole  plague,'  and  it  is  a 
very  serious  matter.  Generally  it  is  brought 
to  an  end  by  disease  breaking  out  among  the 
swarms ;  they  die  by  hundreds,  and  for  a  time 

37 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

the  different  mice  will  be  even  scarcer  than 
before  they  began  to  increase. 

In  ordinary  times  the  bank  vole  is  not  a  very 
common  mouse,  though  found  in  most  parts  of 
Great  Britain,  and  particularly  fond  of  gardens, 
for  there  it  can  find  many  good  things  which 
are  to  its  liking.  It  is  easy  to  trap,  being  an 
inquisitive  little  thing,  and  ready  to  go  into 
anything  for  cheese.  It  is  often  caught  in  the 
daytime,  for  it  has  not  that  horror  of  the  day- 
light shared  by  so  many  of  its  relations.  Most 
mice  are  strictly  creatures  of  the  dark,  but  the 
bank  vole  also  runs  about  in  the  daytime. 
It  generally  makes  its  nest  under  some  old 
stump  or  stone  on  a  warm  dry  bank,  and 
has  a  system  of  roads  or  tunnels  running 
from  it  through  all  the  surrounding  plants. 
If  you  look  carefully  into  a  hedgerow  you 
will  see  that  down  among  the  rubbish,  the 
dead  leaves,  grass,  and  plant  stems,  twisting 
between  the  sticks  and  stones,  are  the  high 
roads  of  the  little  people  of  the  fences.  Well- 
used  tracks  run  here  and  there  beaten  and 
padded  by  many  tiny  feet,  and  these  are  the 
highways  of  the  bank  voles,  the  long-tailed 
mice,  and  the  shrews  when  they  go  out  on 
their  hunting  expeditions.  Through  these  runs 
33 


THE  BANK  VOLE 

sometimes  comes  the  weasel,  that  terror  of  all 
the  small  creatures,  for  he  is  the  fiercest  and 
most  bloodthirsty  of  hunters.  No  bigger  in 
girth  than  the  mice  he  hunts,  he  can  follow 
them  through  all  the  turns  and  twists  of  their 
runs,  through  all  the  windings  and  secret  ways 
of  their  burrows.  The  mouse  whose  trail  he 
fastens  upon  is  as  good  as  lost ;  no  matter  how 
it  may  turn  and  double,  how  often  its  line  is 
crossed  and  confused  by  other  trails,  the 
skilled  hunter  will  unravel  it  all,  and  follow 
on  to  the  end,  until  there  is  a  stifled  squeak  in 
some  dark  corner,  and  that  mouse  is  gone  for 
ever. 

In  fact,  the  red  bank  vole  lives  a  life  of 
constant  danger;  death  may  come  at  any 
moment,  but  I  do  not  think  it  therefore  fol- 
lows that  the  little  creature  is  unhappy.  Its 
frights  do  not  last  long;  crouching  close  to 
the  ground  one  moment,  frozen  by  a  shadow 
flitting  overhead,  next  second  it  will  be  squeak- 
ing at  its  friend  for  taking  the  berry  that  it 
wanted  itself.  What  matter  if  the  weasel 
passes  through  the  burrow,  sending  the  family 
scampering  headlong  in  all  directions;  they 
soon  come  back  again,  and,  if  there  is  one  less 
at  the  feeding-place,  it  is  no  good  bothering 

39 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

and  worrying  while  good  nuts  are  to  be  had. 
So  it  goes  on :  the  fox,  the  cat,  the  weasel,  the 
owls,  and  the  hawks,  all  take  their  toll,  keeping 
down  the  numbers  and  saving  us  from  a  vole 
plague,  from  little  red  mice  running  all  over 
our  gardens  and  eating  them  bare  of  everything. 

With  the  spring,  however  few  the  voles  have 
become,  their  numbers  begin  to  go  up  again. 
With  the  warmer  days  of  March  and  April  there 
come  a  stir  and  disturbance  in  the  mice  world ; 
there  is  much  squeaking  and  fighting,  mother 
voles  seek  holes  to  themselves,  where  they  collect 
fine  grass  and  leaves,  and,  shredding  these  up, 
make  a  soft  warm  bed.  This  is  the  nursery 
for  the  tiny  naked  pink  babies,  which  may 
number  from  two  or  three  up  to  six  or  seven. 
About  four  is  the  most  usual  number.  They 
grow  very  quickly  and  are  soon  covered  with 
dark  down-like  fur ;  then  their  eyes  open  (they 
are  blind  to  begin  with),  and  by  fourteen  days 
old  are  able  to  run  about  and  feed  themselves. 
While  the  young  are  small  and  helpless  their 
mother  is  most  devoted  to  them,  and  a  caged 
bank  vole  has  been  known  to  attack  a  hand  put 
near  her  nest.  As  soon  as  the  first  family 
is  able  to  look  after  itself  the  mother  begins 
to  get  ready  another  nest.  Very  likely  this 

40 


THE  BANK  VOLE 

will  be  on,  not  under  the  ground.  Beneath 
a  heap  of  rubbish,  under  the  shelter  of  a  piece 
of  wood,  or  a  big  stone,  this  next  nursery  may 
be  found.  In  it  another  family  will  be  brought 
up  and  in  their  turn  sent  out  to  earn  their  own 
living  and  learn  the  hard  ways  of  the  world. 
The  young  ones  at  this  age  are  particularly 
sweet  little  things,  clad  in  brown  fur,  but  not 
quite  of  so  bright  a  tint  as  that  of  the  old  ones. 
Once  when  walking  beside  a  hedge  I  saw  a  small 
bank  vole  sitting  on  the  flower  head  of  a  large 
*  cow-parsley  '  plant.  Its  perch  was  at  least 
three  feet  from  the  ground,  but  there  it  sat 
quite  happily,  holding  firmly  with  its  hind  feet, 
and  busy  nibbling  at  a  piece  of  the  flower 
which  it  held  in  its  fore  paws.  It  looked  such 
a  wee  baby  to  be  out  by  itself,  and  if  it  had  not 
been  so  young  and  foolish  it  certainly  would 
not  have  sat  there  in  broad  daylight  for  any 
passing  hawk  to  see.  The  young  voles  grow 
very  quickly,  and  before  the  end  of  the  summer 
will  probably  have  families  of  their  own,  but 
they  may  go  on  growing  even  after  this,  as, 
unlike  people,  they  increase  in  size  until  quite 
late  in  life.  A  full-grown  bank  vole  is  about 
four  inches  long  (head  and  body),  and  has  a  tail 
another  two  inches  in  length.  It  has  a  very 

41 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

neat  slim  body,  indeed  one  might  say  that  it 
has  a  small  waist,  and  a  head  that  looks  very 
large  in  comparison  with  the  rest  of  it,  and 
which  when  compared  with  its  small  hind- 
quarters gives  it  a  top-heavy  look.  In  these 
points  it  is  very  different  from  the  round  furry 
ball-like  field  vole  with  its  rough  shaggy  coat. 
The  bank  vole's  coat  is  always  neat  and 
smooth,  always  looks  well  groomed,  and  so  it 
ought  to  considering  how  often  it  washes  and 
licks  it.  Now  the  field  vole  is  sometimes  rather 
stupid  looking,  but  never  the  bank  vole,  which 
with  its  pricked  ears  and  keen  sharp  eyes 
has  almost  a  foxy  expression,  especially  when 
listening  with  one  fore  foot  raised  for  slight 
sounds.  The  hearing  of  these  mice  is  wonder- 
fully keen ;  the  faintest  sounds  will  often  send 
them  scurrying  to  the  nearest  shelter,  and  I 
think  they  must  be  able  to  hear  things  too  faint 
for  our  ears. 

To  go  back  to  the  question  of  young  ones, 
family  succeeds  family  throughout  the  summer, 
and,  if  the  autumn  is  an  open  one,  on  until 
nearly  Christmas.  Cold  weather  brings  the  nur- 
sery business  to  an  end ;  the  voles  then  go  into 
winter  quarters,  being  far  less  lively  when 
snow  is  on  the  ground  than  at  other  times, 
42 


THE  BANK  VOLE 

though  they  do  not  pass  into  a  long  sleep 
(or  hibernate)  like  the  dormouse.  They  may 
stay  in  their  burrows  more  than  usual,  curling 
themselves  up  in  tight  balls  to  keep  out  the 
cold,  but  whatever  the  weather  they  still  go 
out  into  it,  and  if  you  find  a  strange  little 
track  in  the  snow  like  a  rat's,  only  very  much 
smaller,  but  without  any  mark  of  a  tail 
dragging  behind,  that  was  made  by  the  bank 
vole,  which  always  carries  its  short  tail  cocked 
up  in  the  air,  whereas  the  long-tailed  mice 
often  drop  their  very  long  tails  on  the  snow,  and 
thus  mark  their  trails  quite  unmistakably. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  the  bank  vole  prefers  to 
tunnel  under  the  snow  rather  than  run  over 
its  surface.  A  brown  mouse  on  white  is  too 
easily  seen  by  its  enemies,  but  under  the 
covering  of  snow  it  can  drive  its  holes  anywhere 
in  safety. 

Really  a  mouse  is  never  safe,  there  is  always 
something  to  be  feared,  some  creature  or  other 
ready  to  pounce  on  it ;  and,  however  pretty  and 
charming  a  creature  the  bank  vole  may  be,  we 
must  be  very  thankful  that  it  is  so,  or  our 
gardens,  allotments,  and  fields  would  be  over- 
run with  them.  It  is  because  they  kill  the 
tiresome  mice  that  people  should  not  shoot,  or 

43 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

trap,  or  allow  the  eggs  to  be  taken,  of  hawks 
and  owls.  Owls,  and  the  kestrel  in  particular, 
live  almost  entirely  on  mice  and  young  rats, 
and  when  we  kill  a  barn  owl  (the  barn  owl  is 
the  white  owl  which  flies  about  so  silently  over 
the  fields)  we  are  allowing  hundreds  of  mice  to 
live  and  thrive  and  eat  our  things. 

(Note. — The  bank  voles,  Evotomys,  are  widely 
distributed  throughout  the  northern  hemispheres, 
E.  glareolus  being  the  commonest  European  repre- 
sentive  of  the  genus.  The  British  bank  voles  are  as 
follows : — E.  glareolus  britannicus,  differing  in  several 
particulars  from  the  Continental  type,  and  which 
is  widely  distributed  throughout  England,  Scotland, 
and  Wales,  but  does  not  extend  to  Ireland.  An 
allied  but  distinct  species  has  been  found  on  Skomer 
Island,  off  the  coast  of  Wales,  and  has  been  named 
E.  skomerensis.  Then  there  is  E.  alstoni,  lately  dis- 
covered on  the  Island  of  Mull,  and  E.  erica,  peculiar 
to  the  Island  of  Raasay.) 


44 


CHAPTER  III 

TWO    COMMON   BIRDS 

No  garden,  however  small,  is  without  its 
blackbirds  and  thrushes.  Wherever  we  go  we 
meet  the  blackbird  and  the  thrush.  Every- 
body knows  them,  the  former  in  his  smart 
black  uniform  with  contrasting  orange  bill, 
and  the  latter  in  more  sober  brown  set  off  by 
his  daintily  spotted  waistcoat.  They  raid  the 
fruit  in  our  gardens,  allotments,  and  orchards, 
the  former  being  by  far  the  worst  thief  of  the 
two;  they  make  their  nests  in  the  shrubs  at 
our  very  doors,  bringing  up  their  families  and 
displaying  their  housekeeping  ways  under  our 
eyes ;  and  they  pour  forth  the  joy  of  life  in 
glorious  song  from  the  tree-tops  by  our 
windows.  Yet  these  two  birds  are  not,  like  the 
house-sparrow,  the  rat,  and  the  house-mouse, 
pests,  that  live  entirely  on  what  they  can  steal 
from  us,  following  mankind  as  parasites  all  over 
the  world,  and  hardly  able  to  exist  where  there 
are  neither  people  nor  houses,  but  are  really 

45 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

wild  creatures,  living  (despite  a  little  fruit- 
eating  in  the  autumn)  chiefly  on  grubs  and 
insects.  They  are  not  dependent  on  men  for 
a  living.  They  are  found  far  from  any  dwelling, 
in  the  wild  valleys  among  the  hills  and  in 
lonely  glens  where  people  seldom  go.  Wher- 
ever there  are  trees  and  bushes  to  shelter 
them  will  be  found  blackbirds  and  thrushes, 
whether  that  shelter  is  the  hedgerow  fencing 
in  a  little  garden,  or  the  untrimmed  brakes 
of  a  wild  woodland.  Indeed,  they  are  truly 
free  creatures,  and  bring  the  wild  life  of  the 
countryside  close  to  our  bricks  and  mortar, 
so  that  we  can  watch  them  any  day  and  every 
day  busy  at  work. 

Perhaps  the  busiest  time  for  them  in  the 
twenty-four  hours  is  just  after  daybreak, 
when,  flying  down  hungry  from  roost,  food 
has  to  be  hunted  for  and  found  before  break- 
fast can  be  had.  Now  the  old  proverb  says 
that  'the  early  bird  gets  the  worm,'  which  is 
absolutely  true,  as  every  blackbird  and  thrush 
knows  to  its  cost.  During  the  night  the  worms 
come  up  to  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and, 
stretching  out  of  their  burrows  until  only  the 
tips  of  their  tails  remain  in  the  holes,  they 
feel  around  for  fallen  leaves,  bits  of  grass,  and 

46 


TWO  COMMON  BIRDS 

other  odds  and  ends  to  draw  down  their 
burrows,  for  they  feed  on  decaying  vegetable 
fibres.  As  they  keep  the  end  of  the  body  in 
their  tunnels  they  can  retreat  in  an  instant 
when  they  feel  the  slightest  shaking  of  the 
ground.  Though  without  eyes  or  ears  they  are 
most  sensitive  to  tremors,  so  know  just  as  well 
as  creatures  that  can  see  and  hear  when  there 
is  anything  coming  near,  even  the  light  foot- 
steps of  a  bird  hopping  over  the  grass  being 
enough  to  make  them  draw  hurriedly  back 
into  their  holes.  In  any  case  they  go  home 
soon  after  dawn,  retreating  down  their  holes 
as  the  sun  creeps  up  over  the  horizon,  warming 
the  air  and  drying  the  dew-soaked  grass.  This 
being  so,  the  blackbirds  and  thrushes  which 
want  worms  for  breakfast  must  be  down  at 
break  of  day  and,  hopping  cautiously  over  the 
sodden  lawns,  pick  up  the  worms  before  they 
have  the  time  to  slip  away.  It  is  always  an 
amusing  sight  to  see  a  thrush  grab  at  a  worm 
which  is  anchored  by  the  other  end  to  its 
burrow.  The  bird  pulls  with  might  and  main, 
while  the  grub  does  its  best  to  wriggle  away 
down  its  hole.  Suddenly  the  bird  lurches 
backwards,  nearly  sitting  down  on  its  tail, 
for  the  worm  has  either  given  way  or  parted  in 

47 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

the  middle.  Its  captor  gives  it  a  good  shake, 
like  a  dog  worrying  a  rat,  beats  and  shakes  it 
until  it  is  quiet,  then  swallows  it  with  a  gulp, 
and  hops  gently  on  to  look  for  another  worm. 
The  number  of  earth-worms  that  thrushes 
alone  destroy  must  be  very  large,  for  they 
feed  their  young  ones  entirely  upon  them.  I 
have  watched  the  old  birds  taking  home  food 
to  the  nest,  and  have  never  seen  the  nest- 
lings given  anything  but  earth-worms.  Every 
ten  minutes,  on  an  average,  one  of  the  parents 
would  come  hopping  through  the  twigs  and  up 
to  the  edge  of  the  nest  with  a  beak  as  full 
as  it  would  hold.  Some  seconds  before  the 
old  thrush  jumped  on  to  the  side  of  the  nest 
the  babies  knew  food  was  near,  their  heads  on 
long  trembling  necks  shot  up  into  the  air,  and 
five  orange  gapes  were  open  wide  for  the  good 
things  to  come.  Carefully  and  impartially  the 
mother,  or  father,  as  the  case  might  be,  dis- 
tributed the  load,  first  down  this  anxious 
throat,  then  into  the  next  wavering  beak,  until 
all  sank  back  happy  and  contented  into  the 
nest.  Though  the  food  was  disposed  of  the  old 
bird  would  wait  a  moment  or  two,  for  the 
nest  had  to  be  kept  clean,  and  nothing  must  be 
left  to  soil  it.  While  the  little  ones  are  very 
48 


TWO  COMMON  BIRDS 

small  the  old  thrushes  managed  this  by 
swallowing  their  droppings,  but  as  the  nestlings 
get  older  they  simply  carry  them  off  and  let 
them  fall  at  a  distance.  The  excreta  of  all 
young  birds  that  are  brought  up  in  nests  is 
coated  for  the  purpose  with  a  slimy  covering 
which  will  not  stick  to  anything,  so  the  old 
birds  can  clean  out  the  nursery  without  any 
fear  of  getting  in  a  mess. 

I  have  said  that  young  thrushes  and  young 
blackbirds  are  fed  entirely  on  earth-worms, 
but  these  are  not  the  great  fat  worms  that  the 
birds  get  on  the  lawns  in  the  early  morning,  but 
smaller  red  ones,  which  I  believe  they  find  by 
hunting  about  among  decaying  leaves  under 
the  trees — at  any  rate  I  have  never  seen  any- 
thing else  brought,  and  I  have  watched  thrushes 
at  the  nest  for  hours  at  a  time.  What  hungry 
youngsters  the  babies  are ;  it  does  not  matter 
how  often  they  are  fed,  they  are  always  ready 
for  more.  Even  if  they  have  been  fed  only  a 
second  before,  their  heads  will  pop  up  and  their 
beaks  be  open  wide  on  feeling  the  slightest  shake 
of  the  nest.  They  keep  their  unfortunate 
parents  hard  at  work  from  daybreak  to  dusk, 
only  allowing  them  to  slacken  for  a  little 
while  at  mid-day.  Or  maybe  what  really 

D  49 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

happens  is  that  the  old  birds  go  on  strike  ! 
At  any  rate  they  do  not  go  backwards  and 
forwards  quite  so  often  just  then.  At  first, 
while  the  little  ones  are  very  small,  the  cock 
does  most  of  the  work,  their  mother  staying 
to  cover  the  naked  mites  from  both  sun  and 
rain,  for  they  are  nearly  as  much  distressed 
by  one  as  the  other.  It  is  not  only  for  shelter 
from  enemies  that  birds  choose  thick  bushes  in 
which  to  build  their  nests,  but  also  for  the 
sake  of  shade. 

How  sensitive  nestlings  are  to  the  slightest 
shake  of  the  surrounding  branches  may  be 
tested  by  gently  moving  one  of  the  boughs, 
when  the  four  or  five  heads  will  shoot  up 
into  the  air,  and  beg  with  open  beaks  for 
food.  In  a  second  or  two,  if  nothing  hap- 
pens, they  sink  back  again,  only  to  shoot  up 
again  like  '  jack-in-the-boxes '  at  the  least 
trembling  of  a  twig.  When  they  get  older, 
when  their  eyes  are  open  and  their  feathers 
are  beginning  to  grow,  the  young  birds  are  not 
so  easily  taken  in ;  they  no  longer  open  their 
beaks  in  expectant  innocence  when  a  finger  is 
held  near  them,  but  crouch  down  in  the  nest. 
Fear  has  come  to  them,  the  fear  of  all  that  is 
strange,  and  particularly  of  man,  the  strangest 

50 


TWO  COMMON  BIRDS 

thing  of  all !  What  a  change  there  is  the 
moment  one  is  out  of  sight;  they  no  longer 
crouch  down  with  feathers  drawn  as  tight  as 
possible,  but  sit  up,  look  this  way  and  that, 
and  try  and  preen  their  baby  plumage.  Long 
before  they  leave  the  nest  they  begin  to  arrange 
their  rapidly  growing  feathers,  running  their 
beaks  down  the  shafts  of  the  feathers  and 
thus  keeping  them  in  good  order.  In  less  than 
three  weeks  from  the  time  of  hatching  young 
thrushes  and  blackbirds  are  ready  to  leave  the 
nest;  they  are  then  full  fledged,  except  that 
as  yet  their  tails  are  short  and  stumpy. 
Of  course  a  long  tail  would  be  dreadfully  in 
the  way  when  four  or  five  big  young  birds  are 
packed  into  a  shallow  nest  but  three  or  four 
inches  across.  If  their  tail  feathers  grew 
before  they  left  the  nest  they  would  certainly 
get  broken  and  spoilt,  but  Nature  manages 
better  than  that;  it  is  so  arranged  that  their 
tails  remain  short  until  the  youngsters  go  out 
into  the  world,  and  then  grow  rapidly,  so  that 
by  the  time  they  are  strong  on  the  wing  they 
have  a  long  tail  to  steer  with.  Tails  are  the 
rudders  with  which  birds  steer,  and  also  serve 
as  brakes,  helping  a  bird  to  slow  down  when  it 
wants  to  alight  suddenly. 

51 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

When  they  first  tumble  out  of  their  nest 
young  blackbirds  and  thrushes  fly  but  feebly ; 
they  cannot  steer  well,  they  can  only  flap  along 
into  the  bushes,  and  there  hop  from  branch  to 
branch.  What  a  change  it  is— one  moment 
they  are  warm  and  snug,  a  happy  family 
wedged  tightly  into  their  almost  overflowing 
nest,  looking  out  on  to  the  great  world  of 
greenery  with  its  unknown  joys  and  dangers ; 
next  minute  they  have  gone  over  the  edge, 
and  are  fairly  launched  into  the  new  life. 
Generally  something  makes  them  go.  They 
sit  there  hesitating,  fearful  of  the  great  adven- 
ture, feeling  life  strong  within  them,  and  the 
impulse  we  call  '  instinct '  bidding  them  set 
forth,  while  the  old  birds  call  and  urge  them  to 
come,  but  if  nothing  unexpected  happens  they 
may  put  it  off  for  hours.  They  settle  down 
into  the  nest  once  more,  preen  their  feathers, 
doze,  swallow  greedily  the  food  brought  by 
their  untiring  parents,  until  startled  into  action 
by  something  unexpected.  It  may  be  a  pass- 
ing dog,  cat,  or  person,  but  the  fright  sends 
them  fluttering  with  frantic  squeaks  into  the 
surrounding  bushes.  One  goes  one  way,  one 
another,  each  c  freezing '  into  a  motionless 
object  wherever  it  alights,  while  the  old  birds, 
52 


TWO  COMMON  BIRDS 

brought  home  by  the  outcry,  try  with  piercing 
shrieks  to  draw  off  the  intruder.  As  long  as 
they  think  they  are  invisible  the  young  birds 
remain  quite  still,  in  the  case  of  thrushes  with 
their  feathers  drawn  tight  and  their  beaks 
pointing  skywards,  for  in  this  attitude  the  spots 
on  their  breasts  and  throats  appear  like  lines, 
and  these  lines  make  them  very  hard  to  see 
among  twigs,  grass,  and  leaves.  Very  often  this 
saves  them;  they  are  overlooked  by  the  foe, 
and  the  enemy  having  gone  on  peace  will  reign 
once  more.  The  young  ones  are  now  scattered, 
probably  never  to  meet  again,  over  an  area 
perhaps  twenty  yards  square — how  are  the  old 
birds  going  to  manage,  for  the  little  ones  cannot 
feed  themselves  yet?  Well,  that  short  flight 
has  worked  great  changes  in  the  young  birds. 
While  they  were  in  the  nest  they  sat  quiet  and 
never  made  a  sound  except  when  the  parents 
were  coming  to  them  with  food.  Now  they 
keep  up  a  plaintive  and  monotonous  squeaking. 
Steadily  and  persistently  they  squeak,  full-fed 
or  hungry  makes  no  difference,  for  they  still 
call.  It  is  really  their  way  of  saying,  '  Here 
we  are  !  '  and  by  this  means  they  let  the  old 
birds  know  where  to  find  them.  Without 
trouble  or  loss  of  time  the  old  thrushes  or 

53 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

blackbirds,  as  the  case  may  be,  go  straight 
into  the  heart  of  the  thickest  bushes  and  feed 
the  waiting  babies.  For  a  day  or  two  this 
continues,  the  hard -worked  parents  carrying 
worms  to  the  youngsters  lurking  under  the 
shrubs  and  in  dark  corners,  hiding  from  the 
dangers  which  they  are  not  yet  strong  enough 
to  fly  away  from.  Great  are  the  losses  in 
thrush  and  blackbird  families  at  this  time.  It 
is  just  the  moment  when  all  the  countryside 
is  a  nursery ;  hawks  have  their  eyesses  to  feed, 
owls  their  owlets,  foxes  their  cubs,  stoats  and 
weasels  their  young  ones,  and  all  are  glad  to 
carry  off  young  birds  to  their  families. 
Danger  is  on  all  sides,  and  the  weakly  nestling 
which,  tumbling  out  of  the  nest,  hesitates 
in  the  open  is  sure  to  disappear,  or  the  too 
bold  one,  which  ventures  on  a  flight  before 
it  is  really  strong  and  swift  upon  the  wing, 
will  likewise  vanish.  Danger  is  on  all  sides, 
and  out  of  the  two  broods  that  the  old  birds 
will  probably  bring  up  in  the  course  of  the 
season,  they  will  be  lucky  if  more  than  two 
survive  until  the  following  spring  to  nest  and 
in  their  turn  rear  young  ones.  But  with  four 
or  five  youngsters  to  feed,  the  old  birds  have 
no  time  to  worry  if  the  count  should  be  one 
54 


TWO  COMMON  BIRDS 

or  two  short.  Worms  must  be  found,  worms 
and  yet  more  worms,  until  at  last  the  desperate 
parents  go  on  strike.  The  rapidly  growing 
youngsters  are  now  quite  capable  of  looking 
after  themselves.  They  can  find  and  pick  up 
food,  they  are  quick  and  active ;  indeed  they 
are  full  grown,  but  they  do  not  like  having 
to  fend  for  themselves.  They  follow  the  old 
ones,  squeak  plaintively,  and  beg  them  to 
feed  them.  I  have  seen  an  old  thrush  on  the 
lawn  in  the  early  morning  looking  for  worms 
with  a  couple  of  young  ones  as  big  as  herself 
following  her  about  and  begging  piteously 
for  food.  They  were  quite  capable  of  picking 
up  worms,  but  their  mother  being  there  the 
great  babies  tried  to  get  her  to  do  it  for  them. 
Fully  fledged  young  thrushes  are  almost  in- 
distinguishable from  their  parents,  but  young 
blackbirds  have  a  mottled  brown  dress  of  their 
own,  which  distinguishes  them  from  the  older 
birds  at  a  glance.  All  the  young  ones  moult  in 
the  autumn  and  then  assume  the  full-grown 
plumage,  so  that  by  early  winter  young  cock 
blackbirds  have  the  glossy  black  feathers  and 
orange  bills  that  distinguished  their  fathers. 
By  the  time  they  have  got  their  complete  new 
outfit  they  are  generally  far  from  the  spot 

55 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

where  they  were  reared.  We  often  speak  of 
the  blackbirds  and  thrushes  as  birds  that  stop 
with  us  all  winter,  as  non-migratory  species, 
but  as  a  matter  of  fact  they  travel  far  and  wide. 
Truly  we  do  have  some  with  us  during  the 
hardest  weather,  but  these  are  not  the  identical 
birds  which  nested  with  us  and  reared  their 
young  ones  in  the  garden.  Those  are  now 
far  away.  The  blackbirds  and  thrushes  which 
come  to  feed  in  front  of  the  windows  on 
crumbs  and  bits  thrown  out  for  them  are 
travellers  from  the  north  who  have  come  down 
from  those  colder  regions  to  our  milder  country. 
In  the  autumn  a  movement  begins  in  the  bird 
world  which  very  few  kinds  escape.  It  is  like 
the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide  on  the  shore.  In 
the  spring  the  tide  flows  northwards,  birds  of 
all  sorts  and  descriptions  journey  back  from 
the  warmer  countries  to  the  places  where  they 
were  reared.  Some  get  as  far  north  as  the 
Arctic  Circle,  and  all  travel  many  hundreds  of 
miles  over  land  and  sea  to  get  back  to  their 
homes.  With  the  autumn  comes  the  impulse 
to  wander  again;  cold  winds,  the  scarcity  of 
insects,  the  inherited  instinct,  all  set  them 
moving.  The  tide  begins  to  ebb,  swallows  and 
martins  vanish,  the  little  grey  willow  wrens 
56 


TWO  COMMON  BIRDS 

and  chiff-chaffs  disappear  from  the  hedgerows, 
and  birds  like  starlings,  thrushes,  blackbirds, 
and  other  common  kinds  are  seized  with  the 
same  fever.  They  all  flow  southward,  only 
in  the  case  of  the  latter  kinds  we  do  not  see 
the  end  of  the  flood.  While  our  own  thrushes 
and  blackbirds  are  away  their  place  is  taken  by 
others,  so  we  always  have  some  about,  and  most 
people  never  realise  what  has  been  taking  place 
around  them,  what  comings  and  goings,  what 
Sittings  and  arrivals,  there  have  been  in  the 
garden.  They  know  nothing  of  the  weary 
birds  that  have  sheltered  under  the  bushes 
and  in  the  cabbage  patch,  nor  of  the  famished 
hunger  that  drives  the  blackbird  to  join  the 
smaller  birds  at  the  feeding  place  where  the 
crumbs  are  thrown  out  in  front  of  the  window. 
It  may  be  asked  how  we  know  all  this.  For  one 
reason,  because  blackbirds  and  thrushes  are 
regularly  seen  with  the  flocks  of  other  migrating 
birds  passing  the  lighthouses.  In  foggy  weather 
many  birds  lose  their  lives  at  the  lighthouses, 
dashing  against  the  glass  and  then  falling  into 
the  sea,  and  the  men  on  duty  report  both 
thrushes  and  blackbirds  as  numerous  among 
the  victims.  Another  way  we  know  is  by 
marking  the  young  birds.  Very  light  aluminium 

57 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

rings  are  made,  marked  with  a  name  and 
number,  which  are  put  carefully  round  the 
legs  of  nestlings.  They  do  not  in  any  way 
interfere  with  the  bird,  but  if  at  any  time  the 
wearer  is  killed  or  captured  the  ring  identifies  it. 
Blackbirds  and  thrushes  marked  in  this  way 
have  been  recovered  hundreds  of  miles  from 
their  home,  they  have  also  been  seen  the  follow- 
ing spring  back  in  the  old  spot.  This  is  per- 
haps one  of  the  most  wonderful  things  in 
Nature,  that  a  small  bird  with  no  previous 
experience  can  travel  hundreds  of  miles  over 
land  and  sea,  stay  the  winter  in  a  strange  land, 
and  come  back  in  the  spring  to  not  only  the 
country  in  which  it  was  born,  but  to  the  very 
hedgerow  and  bush  !  And  it  cannot  be  that 
the  old  ones  guide  them,  for  in  many  cases  it 
has  been  proved  that  the  old  birds  leave  for 
the  south  earlier  than  the  young  ones ;  this  is 
especially  the  case  with  the  cuckoo,  the  adults 
leaving  quite  a  month  ahead  of  the  birds  of 
the  year. 

Those  blackbirds  and  thrushes  that  choose 
to  stay  the  winter  here  in  company  with  their 
cousins,  the  redwings  and  fieldfares,  that  have 
come  over  from  Scandinavia,  often  have  a 
hard  time,  for  during  bad  weather  they  are 
58 


TWO  COMMON  BIRDS 

troubled  to  find  food.  The  worst  winter  for 
birds  that  I  remember  was  that  of  1916-17. 
It  began  early,  and  continued  with  few  breaks 
late  into  the  spring.  The  greater  number  of 
birds  departed  early,  only  a  few  blackbirds 
and  one  or  two  thrushes  being  left.  The  diffi- 
culty of  finding  food  in  the  frozen  and  snow- 
bound countryside  made  them  piteously  tame 
and  friendly.  The  thrushes  suffered  most,  for 
they  do  not  care  for  berries,  on  which  black- 
birds can  not  only  live  but  flourish.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  the  bushes  were  soon  cleared  of 
such  provender.  The  invading  flocks  of  red- 
wings and  fieldfares  finished  them  and  then 
went  on  south.  The  thrushes  hunted  the 
hedgerows  carefully  for  hidden  snails  among 
the  undergrowth,  but  most  of  these  were 
tucked  away  too  deep  to  be  found.  The  poor 
birds  grew  weaker  and  weaker,  they  would 
hardly  hop  out  of  one's  way,  their  feathers  stood 
on  end  not  only  from  cold  but  from  starvation, 
and  they  died  in  hundreds.  They  suffered 
most  in  Cornwall,  for  the  different  kinds  kept 
moving  on  south  before  the  cold,  but  when  they 
got  that  far  were  too  weak  to  face  the  Chan- 
nel crossing,  so  *  they  frequented  little  town 
gardens,  tripping  feebly  on  tiny  grass-plots  in 

59 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

front  of  suburban  houses,  pecking  among  the 
gooseberry-bushes  at  the  back,  constantly 
chased  by  lapdogs,  but  constantly  returning. 
They  came  to  the  windows  for  food,  and  died 
in  gardens,  beside  roads,  and  in  every  field, 
and  along  frozen  drains.'  * 

The  loss  of  bird  life  during  that  winter  will 
never  be  known ;  only  naturalists  can  have  any 
idea  of  the  countless  throngs  that  suffered  and 
died.  Many  kinds  were  almost  exterminated, 
and  in  the  district  where  I  live  birds  which 
used  to  be  common  are  now  scarce.  The 
following  spring  there  were  no  thrushes  singing 
on  the  tree-tops;  not  a  nest  could  be  found. 
In  places  where  with  hardly  any  hunting  I  used 
to  find  twenty  or  thirty  nests  there  was  not 
even  one  !  The  blackbirds  were  represented  by 
just  one  or  two  survivors,  and  that  summer  it 
was  not  necessary  to  net  the  fruit  for  there 
were  no  birds  to  rob  it ! 

Though  thrushes  often  get  entangled  in  nets 
over  fruit,  they  are  not  really  half  such  thieves  as 
blackbirds.  They  are  chiefly  grub-eaters,  but 
blackbirds,  there  is  no  denying,  are  very 
fond  of  berries  and  fruit.  Of  wild  berries 

1  H.  M.  Wallis,  f  Mortality  among  Birds  during  the  February 
Frost  in  West  Cornwall' (British  Birds,  vol.  x.,  1916-17,  p.  267). 


TWO  COMMON  BIRDS 

there  are  few  they  like  better  than  those  of 
the  mountain  ash.  From  far  and  near  the 
birds  will  gather  to  the  feast,  and  there  is  a 
fine  tree  in  the  garden  of  my  home  which  gives 
them  an  annual  feast.  One  day  it  will  be 
orange  with  berries,  the  boughs  bowed  down 
with  the  weight,  but  next  day  it  will  be 
stripped,  the  busy  blackbirds  having  quickly 
relieved  it  of  the  burden. 

To  go  back  to  the  subject  of  birds  in  the 
winter  time,  you  will  notice  how  blackbirds  and 
thrushes  fluff  out  their  feathers  in  cold  weather. 
This  is  to  keep  themselves  warm.  The  arrange- 
ment is  on  the  same  principle  as  a  thermos 
flask.  The  feathers  are  in  layers,  and  between 
them  lies  air.  The  more  the  feathers  are 
fluffed  out  the  more  layers  of  air  there  are  and 
the  less  the  warmth  of  the  body  can  escape. 
When  the  weather  is  warm  the  bird  draws  its 
feathers  tighter  round  it,  expelling  the  air,  and 
so  cooling  itself.  Feathers  are  really  the 
warmest  and  most  wonderful  clothing  in  all 
Nature.  They  are  laid  one  over  the  other 
like  tiles,  keeping  the  wearer  dry  whatever  the 
rain,  and  are  warm  or  cool  wear  as  required. 
No  wonder  the  owner  takes  such  care  of  them, 
preening  them  whenever  he  has  a  moment  to 

61 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

spare,  and  bathing  as  often  as  he  can.  How 
birds  do  enjoy  a  good  wash  !  I  have  often 
watched  blackbirds  and  thrushes  in  the  shallow 
water  at  the  edge  of  a  ditch  splashing  the  drops 
far  and  wide  and  soaking  their  feathers  until 
they  looked  more  like  drowned  rats  than  tidy 
birds.  Once  thoroughly  wet  through  they 
fly  off  to  some  sheltered  spot  and  there  spread 
out  wings  and  tail  and  let  the  sun  dry  their 
feathers.  Nearly  all  birds  love  to  wash  them- 
selves, and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  impulse 
to  bathe  is  truly  instinctive.  They  do  not 
learn  how  to  wash  by  experience  or  through 
watching  other  birds,  but  it  6  comes  to  them  ' 
when  they  see  water  rippling.  Why  I  say  this 
is  that  I  have  hand-reared  several  young  birds, 
and  will  mention  in  particular  a  young  song 
thrush  which  was  taken  from  the  nest  while 
still  in  that  innocent  stage  when  it  did  not 
know  a  human  hand  from  its  mother's  beak  ! 
I  fed  it  on  worms,  three  ounces  a  day  being  the 
amount  it  ate,  and  it  not  only  lived  but  throve 
and  became  a  beautiful  bird.  I  know  that  it 
never  saw  water  until  the  day  when,  being  fully 
fledged,  I  put  a  pan  of  water  before  it.  It 
looked  at  it  without  any  interest  whatever, 
until  I  made  the  water  ripple,  when  Jack 
62 


TWO  COMMON  BIRDS 

(as  the  bird  was  called)  without  hesitation 
stepped  into  the  dish,  stooped  down,  ducked 
his  head  under,  beat  the  water  with  his  wings, 
and  in  fact  went  through  all  the  motions 
proper  to  taking  a  bath.  Indeed  he  took  as 
thorough  a  bath  as  I  have  ever  seen  any  full- 
grown  wild  thrush  take.  When  he  saw  the 
water  splash  and  ripple  he  instantly  under- 
stood what  it  was  and  what  he  must  do, 
though  in  all  his  little  life  he  had  never  seen 
any  water  save  rain  drops  !  It  was  a  clear 
case  of  instinctive  knowledge. 

Of  course  nest  building  is  the  best  known 
instinct  among  birds,  young  ones  with  no 
previous  experience  building  as  good,  or  nearly 
as  good,  nests  as  birds  of  three  or  four  years' 
experience.  It  does  seem  extraordinary  to 
think  that  with  no  one  to  explain  to  it  a  young 
bird  will  gather  the  proper  and  most  suitable 
stuff  with  which  to  build,  and  make  not  only 
a  good  and  serviceable  nest,  but  one  according 
to  the  peculiar  pattern  of  its  kind.  You  never 
see  a  thrush's  nest  vary  from  the  clay-lined 
type  that  all  thrushes  build,  nor  a  blackbird's 
that  was  not  lined  with  fine  grass.  Every 
schoolboy  and  girl  know  the  two  nests,  and 
know  that  in  the  clay  mud-lined  nest  will  be 

63 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

the  sky-blue  black-spotted  eggs  of  the  thrush, 
and  in  the  other  the  mottled  eggs  of  the 
blackbird.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  nest  of  the 
latter  is  made  on  the  same  plan  as  the  thrush's ; 
mud  is  a  feature  of  it,  but  this  is  not  noticeable, 
for  the  blackbird  has  improved  on  the  thrush's 
plan ;  it  does  not  believe  in  hardened  mud  as  a 
lining  by  itself,  so  it  uses  it,  but  adds  fine  grass 
on  the  top,  making  a  soft  bottom  to  the  nest 
for  its  eggs  to  rest  on,  and  no  one  sees  the 
cement  which  makes  the  whole  thing  so  strong. 
As  both  birds  build  in  the  same  sort  of  places, 
namely  bushes  and  hedges,  the  question 
naturally  arises  why  should  one  have  blue 
eggs  with  black  spots  and  the  other  have  ones 
with  a  greenish-blue  ground  so  closely  mottled 
with  grey-brown  that  the  ground  can  hardly  be 
seen  ?  Personally,  I  know  of  no  reason ;  both 
types  of  colouring  seem  equally  well  suited 
for  their  surroundings,  and  the  only  answer  I 
can  make  is  that  it  has  happened  so !  But  un- 
doubtedly markings  of  any  sort  make  eggs  less 
noticeable.  Many  of  the  birds  that  build  their 
nests  in  bushes  and  hedges  have  blue  or  bluish- 
white  eggs  marked  with  blotches  or  streaks,  and 
it  seems  this  sort  of  colouring  is  the  best  for 
escaping  notice.  When  you  look  through  the 
64 


TWO  COMMON  BIRDS 

leaves  and  twigs  of  a  hedge  marks  and  streaks 
break  up  the  egg,  so  one  does  not  easily  see  it, 
a  plain  egg  catching  the  eye  more  quickly.  The 
only  bird  I  know  that  builds  an  open  nest  in 
bushes  and  hedges,  and  which  also  lays  a  plain 
egg  without  streaks  or  markings  of  any  kind,  is 
the  hedge-sparrow,  but  its  egg  is  that  peculiar 
green-blue  which  is  so  difficult  to  see  through 
green  leaves.  That  colour  and  markings  do  help 
to  keep  eggs  from  being  found  and  eaten  by  the 
many  creatures  which  like  them  and  hunt  for 
them,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that,  with  very  few 
exceptions,  all  those  birds  that  make  their  homes 
in  holes,  or  build  domed  nests  in  which  their  eggs 
cannot  be  seen,  and  in  which  colour  and  mark- 
ings could  not  be  any  use  to  them,  have  white 
eggs.  Plenty  of  examples  will  occur  to  any  one 
who  has  done  much  birds'-nesting. 

To  go  back  to  the  subject  of  instinct,  I  must 
tell  how  I  found  out  through  the  young  thrush 
which  I  brought  up  by  hand,  that  there  are 
some  things  which  this  bird  does  not  know 
without  being  taught,  and  which  it  has  to  find 
out  for  itself.  One  of  these  things  was  how 
to  break  the  shells  of  snails  so  as  to  get  out 
the  unfortunate  inhabitant.  But  I  must 
explain  that  the  habit  of  cracking  open  '  house- 

E  65 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

snails ' 1  is  peculiar  to  the  song  thrush.  No  other 
kind  of  bird  does  it,  not  even  its  cousin  the  black- 
bird. When  you  find  a  heap  of  broken  snail  shells 
you  may  be  quite  certain  they  are  the  work  of 
the  thrush.  Each  thrush  has  its  own  particular 
breaking  stone  or  anvil.  It  may  have  more 
than  one,  but  even  if  it  has  two  or  three 
they  are  its  private  property  on  which  other 
thrushes  do  not  poach.  The  anvil  is  usually  a 
pebble  or  other  hard  object  of  just  the  con- 
venient height  and  shape  to  hammer  the 
victims  upon.  I  have  seen  a  thrush  carry  a 
snail  a  hundred  yards  or  more  to  its  favourite 
stone,  though  there  were  many  others  near  at 
hand  which  to  my  eyes  looked  just  as  good; 
but  the  bird  evidently  preferred  this  one,  for 
it  was  used  for  weeks,  and  the  fragments  of 
snail  shells  lay  thick  around  it.  Sometimes 
a  thrush  will  select  a  pebble  in  the  middle 
of  the  garden  path  as  its  anvil,  when  one  can 
find  out  the  results  of  each  morning's  hunt  by 
sweeping  away  the  bits  every  day.  At  other 
times  the  favourite  stone  is  on  a  bank,  or  under 
the  hedge ;  in  fact  the  place  does  not  matter  as 
long  as  the  anvil  is  all  right. 

1  The  common  banded  snail,  Helix  nemoralis,  with  its  many 
varieties,  is  the  kind  preferred, 

66 


TWO  COMMON  BIRDS 

Now  when  I  offered  some  snails  to  my  young 
thrush  I  quite  expected  him  to  know  at  once 
what  to  do  with  them,  in  the  same  way  that 
all  young  birds  know  instinctively  how  to 
build  a  nest,  but  he  was  completely  puzzled. 
He  took  no  interest  in  them  until  one  of  the 
snails  put  out  its  head  and  began  to  move 
about,  whereupon  he  flew  down  from  his  perch, 
watched  it  for  a  moment,  and  then  pulled  its 
waving  tentacles.  The  poor  snail  hastily  re- 
treated into  its  shell,  to  the  bewilderment  of 
the  thrush,  who  seemed  to  wonder  what  could 
have  happened  to  it.  He  turned  it  over,  but 
could  make  nothing  of  it,  so  tried  another 
snail  which  had  begun  to  move  about,  with  a 
similar  result.  In  disgust  he  flew  up  to  his 
perch.  Presently  the  two  snails  put  their 
heads  out  again  and  he  flew  down  and  once 
more  pulled  their  waving  tentacles,  with  the 
same  result  as  before.  He  could  not  make 
out  what  had  happened  to  them,  and  it  was 
evident  that  he  had  no  idea  they  were  good  to 
eat  nor  how  to  get  them  out  of  their  shells. 
Daily  for  a  week  I  showed  him  snails,  and 
each  time  he  was  most  inquisitive  about 
them,  turning  them  over,  pecking  the  shells, 
and  trying  to  make  out  where  the  snails 

67 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

vanished  to.  He  shook  one,  having  picked  it 
up  by  the  lip  of  its  shell,  just  as  he  would  have 
done  when  killing  a  worm,  but  it  did  not 
seem  to  occur  to  him  to  carry  it  to  any  one 
of  the  stones  I  had  put  ready  for  him  to  beat 
the  snails  on.  Of  course  this  had  no  effect  on 
the  snail,  which  only  shrank  back  farther  into 
its  house.  On  the  sixth  day  the  bird  seemed 
to  lose  all  patience.  He  picked  up  a  snail, 
swung  it  backwards  and  forwards  and  brought 
it  down  with  such  a  thump  on  the  ground  that 
it  flew  from  his  beak  and  half  across  the  big  cage. 
He  hopped  after  it,  picked  it  up,  and,  jumping 
on  one  of  the  anvils  that  I  had  put  ready  for 
him,  beat  the  snail  several  times  against  it, 
hitting  it  first  on  one  side  and  then  on  the 
other  with  a  swinging  motion.  He  was  not 
expert  enough,  however,  to  crack  it,  and  it 
rolled  away,  after  which  he  tried  in  turn  all 
the  five  snails  that  were  in  the  cage.  He 
seemed  very  pleased  with  his  discovery  that 
they  could  be  hit  on  a  stone,  and  went  on  trying 
first  one  snail  and  then  another,  until,  after 
fifteen  minutes'  hard  work,  one,  more  weak 
in  the  shell  than  the  rest,  gave  way.  He  had 
cracked  his  first  snail !  Once  the  shell  was 
broken  it  did  not  take  him  long  to  pound  it  to 
68 


TWO  COMMON  BIRDS 

bits,  extract  the  snail  and  swallow  it.  After 
long  trying  he  had  found  out  how  to  deal  with 
snails,  and  henceforward  he  practised  daily 
(when  I  could  find  him  snails),  so  that  he  was 
soon  an  expert  on  the  anvil,  opening  a  snail 
with  a  few  blows,  whereas  to  begin  with  it  had 
taken  him  ages  to  break  one.  It  was  very 
evident  that  he  learnt  by  experience,  and  that 
the  snail-cracking  habit  of  the  thrush  is  not 
a  specialised  instinct,  but  arises  from  the 
tendency  of  this  bird  to  beat  on  the  ground  and 
thus  kill  any  food,  like  a  big  worm,  which 
cannot  easily  be  managed.  My  thrush  would 
beat  and  hammer  anything  that  was  at  all 
troublesome  or  which  he  did  not  understand ;  I 
have  even  seen  him  pick  up  a  pill-box  and  hit 
it  against  the  leg  of  the  chair !  A  roll  of  paper 
was  treated  in  the  same  way,  or  indeed  any 
little  thing  which  was  strange  to  him. 

In  conclusion,  I  must  remind  those  who  may 
read  this  that,  though  blackbirds  and  thrushes 
are  some  of  the  commonest  birds  we  have,  they 
are  not  therefore  any  the  less  interesting,  and 
that  there  is  still  much  we  might  learn  about 
them.  When  we  watch  them  from  our  windows 
pulling  worms  out  of  the  lawns,  or  carrying 
away  bits  of  hay  and  grass  with  which  to  make 

69 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

their  nests,  we  are  as  much  studying  wild 
nature  as  if  we  were  watching  golden  eagles  in 
the  Highlands  !  The  same  great  laws  of  Nature 
rule  both,  and  we  are  likely  to  learn  as  much 
from  one  as  the  other. 

(The  Song  Thrush  of  Great  Britain,  Turdus  ph. 
clarkei,  is  regarded  as  a  sub-species  of  the  Continental 
Turdus  philomelus,  but  our  Blackbird  is  identical 
with  the  Turdus  m.  merula  of  the  Continent.) 


TO 


CHAPTER  IV 

SHREWS 

SHREWS  are  those  little  long-nosed  mice  of 
which  the  cats  catch  and  kill  so  many,  though 
they  never  eat  them.  They  will  catch  them 
and  play  with  them  by  dozens,  but  from  their 
poor  little  bodies  they  turn  away  in  disgust. 
What  it  is  that  the  cats  dislike  so  much  I 
cannot  say  for  certain,  but  think  it  must  be 
the  curious  musty  smell  of  the  shrews.  If  you 
pick  up  a  dead  shrew  and  examine  it,  parting 
the  short  velvet-like  hair  carefully  behind  its 
shoulders,  you  will  see  a  little  mark,  or  gland, 
from  which  oozes  an  oily  matter,  which  makes 
this  smell.  Though  cats,  dogs,  and  foxes  will 
not  swallow  shrews,  owls  and  hawks  will  eat 
them  as  readily  as  any  other  mice. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  shrews  are  not  mice  at 
all ;  they  are  just  shrews,  and  nothing  more. 
The  true  mice  have  two  pair  of  sharp  cutting 
teeth,  or  incisors,  in  the  front  of  their  mouth 
specially  fitted  for  gnawing  grain,  and  such 

71 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

vegetarian  food,  whence  they  are  called 
'  Rodents ' ;  but  the  shrews  live  on  insects, 
their  teeth  are  quite  different,  they  are  for 
biting  and  tearing,  not  for  gnawing,  and  they 
are  called  '  Insectivores.' 

There  are  three  different  kinds  of  shrews  in 
this  country— the  common  shrew,  the  water 
shrew,  and  the  pigmy  or  lesser  shrew.  The 
first  well  deserves  its  name,  for  it  is  very  very 
common  indeed.  Wherever  there  is  long  grass 
or  other  undergrowth,  the  shrews  will  have 
their  paths  and  tunnels,  along  which  they 
race  at  a  surprising  pace  at  all  hours  of  the  day 
and  night,  for,  unlike  so  many  wild  creatures, 
they  have  no  preference  for  the  dark.  If  there  is 
a  wild  or  rubbishy  corner  in  your  garden,  where 
the  grass  and  nettles  grow  rankly,  and  you 
watch  and  wait  there  quietly  for  a  few  moments, 
you  will  be  certain  to  hear  the  shrill  squeaking 
of  these  little  creatures,  and  see  sooner  or  later 
a  small  grey-brown  shape  darting  in  and  out 
between  the  stems.  It  is  a  shrew  foraging 
for  food,  sniffing  here  and  there  with  its  long 
keen  snout,  nosing  a  beetle  from  its  hiding- 
place  behind  a  leaf,  a  spider  from  its  refuge 
between  some  grass  blades,  grabbing  a  small 
worm  before  it  can  withdraw  into  the  ground, 
72 


SHREWS 

and  pouncing  like  a  tiger  on  a  fat  green  cater- 
pillar that  falls  from  a  plant.  Where  there 
is  one  shrew  there  is  sure  to  be  another,  and 
soon  a  second  will  come  dashing  along,  squeak- 
ing shrilly  as  it  crosses  the  trail  of  the  first. 
For  its  size  there  is  no  creature  so  fierce  and 
active  as  the  shrew.  When  watching  a  spot 
where  there  are  three  or  four  shrews,  it  seems 
as  if  the  ground  is  alive  with  them.  One  day 
I  saw  a  shrew  slip  across  an  open  space,  so 
sitting  down  on  a  fallen  tree  I  waited  and 
watched  for  a  few  moments.  Another  soon 
appeared,  a  grey-brown  shadow  sliding  in  and 
out  of  the  rustling  leaves ;  then  a  third 
dashed  across,  and  yet  a  fourth,  until  it  seemed 
as  if  there  must  be  dozens  about,  though  per- 
haps there  were  really  not  more  than  two  or 
three,  but  they  came  and  went  so  quickly 
it  seemed  as  if  there  were  a  great  many  running 
to  and  fro.  Whenever  one  crossed  the  path 
of  another  their  shrill  squeaks  rose  on  the  still 
air,  but  I  saw  no  fighting  (though  they  often 
fight  like  little  demons),  but  it  seemed  they 
were  busy  looking  for  food  and  had  no  time 
for  any  thing  further  than  rude  remarks.  But 
they  abused  each  other  all  the  time— squeak ! 
squeak  !  squeak  !  they  went  as  they  raced  to 

73 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

and  fro.  The  sound  was  not  only  very  shrill, 
but,  unless  one  saw  the  shrew  that  was  making 
it,  it  was  almost  impossible  to  tell  from  whence 
it  came,  whether  before,  behind,  or  from  the 
side  of  you. 

Watching  this  colony  made  me  very  anxious 
to  know  more  about  these  queer  little  creatures, 
but  the  first  two  or  three  that  I  caught  simply 
raced  round  and  round  the  cage  until  tired  out 
and  then  died.  Two  or  three  hours  saw  the 
end.  It  seemed  so  cruel  that  I  said  I  would 
never  try  again,  but  one  day  a  man  who  was 
cutting  some  long  grass  in  the  garden  came 
across  a  shrew  and  somehow  or  other  managed 
to  catch  it.  When  I  saw  the  tiny  creature  I 
decided  to  have  one  more  try,  though  afraid 
that  the  wee  thing  must  have  been  pinched 
in  the  man's  large  rough  hand.  I  dropped  it 
into  a  glass-sided  fern-case,  in  which  I  kept 
some  frogs,  a  blindworm,  and  two  or  three 
kinds  of  toads.  The  shrew  hesitated  for  a 
moment,  letting  me  have  a  good  look  at  it. 
It  was  a  full-grown  young  one,  being  clad  in 
the  light  brown  coat  which  distinguishes  the 
shrews  of  the  year  from  those  that  have  lived 
through  the  winter.  The  latter  are  much 
darker  and  have  almost  bare  tails.  It  is  a 

74 


SHREWS 

curious  fact,  but  if  you  set  traps  in  the  early 
part  of  the  winter  you  only  catch  shrews  in  the 
light  fur,  there  are  no  old  ones  about.  Now  in 
the  autumn  there  are  plenty  of  old  as  well  as 
young  ones,  and  many  of  them  die,  and  you 
see  them  lying  about  on  paths  and  roads. 
Nearly  all  these  dead  shrews  are  in  the  dark 
fur.  So  many  die  that  in  olden  days  it  was 
believed  that  the  very  fact  of  trying  to  cross  a 
path  was  fatal  to  a  shrew.  Of  course  this  was 
merely  rubbish ;  shrews  are  very  delicate  little 
creatures,  but  they  can  scamper  across  a  road 
without  being  any  the  worse  for  it !  Yet 
that  great  numbers  die  in  the  autumn  is  a  fact. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  these  animals  are 
like  so  many  plants  and  live  only  for  twelve 
months,  i.e.  are  annuals.1  The  idea  is  that 
the  young  shrew  wears  throughout  the  summer 
in  which  it  was  born,  and  on  into  the  autumn, 
the  light  grey-brown  coat,  after  which  it 
moults  and  appears  in  the  dark  brown  fur. 
In  this  dress  it  breeds,  rearing  one  or  two 
families,  after  which,  its  work  in  the  world 
being  now  done,  it  dies.  Certainly  the  facts 
fit  in  well  with  the  theory,  and  account  for 
the  strange  way  shrews  die  off  in  the  autumn, 

1  E.  L.  Adams,  Wild  Life,  vol.  i.  p.  82. 

75 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

which  they  do  to  such  a  remarkable  extent 
that  one  can  understand  how  in  the  ignorant 
days  long  gone  by,  when  people  believed  in 
witchcraft,  magic  was  called  in  to  account  for 
it. 

In  the  days  when  everybody  believed  in 
witches  the  poor  little  shrew  was  regarded 
as  a  very  evil  creature.  If  a  shrew  chanced 
to  run  over  the  leg  of  a  horse  or  cow  when  one 
of  these  beasts  was  lying  out  in  the  field,  the 
animal  would  certainly  go  lame  afterwards ; 
while  if  a  horse  or  cow  was  bitten  by  one  (fancy 
a  tiny  shrew  biting  a  horse  !)  it  would  at  once 
swell  up  and  die.  Some  of  the  remedies  for  the 
bite  of  a  shrew  were  still  more  extraordinary, 
one  being  to  take  the  body  of  a  shrew  which  had 
died  on  a  cart  road,  burn  it,  beat  the  ashes 
into  dust,  mix  them  with  goose  grease,  then 
rub  it  on  the  swelling,  which  would  at  once 
be  cured.  The  body  of  a  shrew  that  had  been 
killed  hanging  in  the  air  effected  more  cures 
than  one  killed  on  the  ground.  An  ointment, 
too,  could  be  made  from  the  tail  cut  off  a 
live  shrew,  but  the  tail  was  no  use  if  taken 
from  a  dead  animal !  The  most  strange  idea 
of  all  was  the  belief  in  a  shrew-ash.  A  twig 
from  a  shrew-ash  would  cure  all  sorts  of  ills, 

76 


SHREWS 

and  it  was  made  thus :  a  deep  hole  was  bored 
into  the  ash-tree,  a  shrew  was  then  caught  and 
still  living  was  pushed  into  the  hole,  which  was 
plugged  up,  leaving  the  unfortunate  little 
creature  to  die.  The  tree  had  for  evermore  all 
sorts  of  virtues  and  would  cure  many  ills. 
If  a  horse,  cow,  or  sheep  was  suffering  from 
the  '  cruel  anguish  '  caused  by  a  shrew  having 
run  over  it,  a  touch  from  a  twig  of  the  tree 
that  had  been  treated  in  this  way  would  at 
once  relieve  it !  In  these  days  we  can  hardly 
understand  how  people  could  ever  have  be- 
lieved such  tales,  but  they  did  believe  them 
most  completely,  and  many  a  poor  unfortunate 
little  shrew  was  corked  up  in  a  tree  to  die  a 
miserable  death  in  consequence.1 

To  go  back  to  my  shrew:  it  stood  and 
hesitated  for  a  moment,  then  it  darted  away, 
racing  round  and  exploring  its  new  quarters. 
It  smelt  here  and  there,  its  little  sensitive 
snout  quivering  all  the  time,  then  it  dived 
under  the  moss,  whence  it  brought  out  a 
worm  that  had  been  intended  for  a  frog,  ate 
it,  and  dived  under  the  moss  again.  There  it 
discovered  the  hiding-place  of  a  '  mud  frog  ' 
(a  small  fat  foreigner),  but  what  it  did  to  it  I 

1  G,  E.  H.  Barrett-Hamilton,  British  Mammals,  p.  102. 

77 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

do  not  know.  There  was  a  piercing  shriek, 
the  moss  heaved,  and  the  frog  came  out.  It 
sat  and  looked  around,  and  when  the  shrew 
came  near  it  blew  out  its  sides  with  air  until  it 
looked  like  a  balloon.  Soon  the  shrew  turned 
towards  it,  when,  without  waiting  to  be 
touched,  it  again  uttered  that  soul-rending 
cry,  which  lasted  until  all  the  air  had  been 
expelled  and  its  sides  had  fallen  in.  The  frog 
seemed  so  terribly  afraid — I  never  knew  before 
that  a  frog  had  enough  wits  to  get  really 
frightened — that  I  picked  it  up  and  put  it 
into  another  case.  The  shrew  then  turned 
his  attention  to  the  other  frogs,  toads,  and  the 
blindworm,  giving  them  all  such  an  unhappy 
time  that  I  had  to  take  them  away  too. 
Having  now  got  the  case  to  himself  he  began 
to  make  himself  at  home.  He  collected  oak 
leaves  and  grass  with  which  to  make  himself 
a  comfortable  nest  beneath  the  shelter  of  a 
fern.  It  was  very  snug  and  warm,  the  lining 
being  made  of  shredded  leaves  and  grass. 
Here  he  rested  in  the  intervals  of  worm 
hunting,  for  it  was  on  worms  that  he  lived. 
One  day  my  brother  gave  the  '  Mighty  Atom,' 
as  we  had  named  him,  thirty  big  earth-worms, 
which  he  dragged  off,  one  after  the  other,  so 
78 


SHREWS 

that  we  thought  he  had  eaten  the  lot,  but, 
though  the  c  Atom '  had  a  great  appetite, 
we  had  for  once  over-estimated  it.  Next  day 
there  was  a  horrible  smell  in  the  cage,  and 
on  hunting  about  I  found  the  greater  part 
of  the  worms  hidden  under  the  moss.  He 
had  killed  them  by  biting  off  their  heads 
and  tails,  and  they  were  not  only  dead  but 
smelling  too  ! 

It  was  most  amusing  to  watch  the  '  Mighty 
Atom  '  dealing  with  a  big  worm.  He  knew  in 
a  second  when  one  was  dropped  in,  found  it  at 
once,  by  scent  I  think,  jumped  upon  it,  gave  it 
a  bite  at  the  head  end,  sprang  back  out  of  the 
way  of  its  squirmings,  rushed  off  and  rubbed 
himself  in  the  moss  to  get  rid  of  the  slime, 
hurried  back,  bit  it  again,  ran  away  to  clean 
himself,  and  as  quickly  back  once  more.  When 
he  had  worried  its  head  end  well  he  would 
begin  at  the  tail,  by  which  rough  handling  it 
would  at  last  be  quietened,  and  when  it  was 
really  still  he  would  begin  and  eat.  He  began 
at  one  end,  holding  the  body  down  with  his 
paws,  and  chewing  along  its  length.  When  he 
was  hungry  it  did  not  take  him  long  to  finish 
the  meal,  but  when  he  had  the  choice  of  several 
worms  he  only  ate  the  fore  part  of  each  and 

79 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

left  the  hind.  He  liked,  if  he  could,  to  drag  his 
worms  under  the  moss,  as  there  they  could  not 
squirm  over  him  and  soil  his  beautiful  fur.  He 
was  most  particular  over  his  toilet,  and  would 
lick  his  coat  as  a  cat  or  dog  does,  but  he  never 
sat  up  on  his  hind  legs  and  washed  his  face  as 
the  true  mice  do.  To  go  back  to  the  '  Atom's  ' 
food,  he  soon  learnt  where  it  came  from,  and 
would  come  to  me  when  called.  From  the 
first  he  had  been  quite  fearless,  and  as  soon 
as  he  found  out  that  a  hand  put  into  the  cage 
meant  food  he  would  rush  from  his  nest,  take 
the  worm,  and  drag  it  away.  I  did  not  always 
let  him  have  it  at  once,  when  he  would  hang 
determinedly  to  the  end  and  pull  with  all  his 
might.  Many  times  I  lifted  him  up  into  the  air 
hanging  to  the  end  of  the  worm ;  no  bull-dog 
could  have  been  more  determined,  he  even 
equalled  that  fiercest  of  creatures  the  mole  ! 

The  shrew  was  also  fond  of  spiders,  flies, 
and  such  insects  as  could  be  found.  At  the 
end  of  a  few  days'  '  hand  feeding '  he  became 
so  bold  that  he  would  climb  on  to  the  hand  and 
try  and  get  up  your  sleeve.  He  would  not 
stand  any  nonsense ;  if  offered  an  empty  hand 
he  would  attack  one's  fingers  with  all  his  might 
and  main,  biting  and  worrying  like  a  savage 
80 


SHREWS 

little  fury.  His  teeth  were  too  small  to  hurt, 
though  sometimes  he  managed  to  pinch  fairly 
well,  but  if  he  did  no  harm  it  was  not  from 
want  of  the  will  to  do  it ! 

If  lions  and  tigers  were  as  fierce,  active,  and 
fearless  in  proportion  to  their  size,  as  shrews 
and  moles  are  in  comparison  with  their  little 
bodies,  what  awful  creatures  they  would  be !  It 
is  only  by  watching  these  small  animals  that  one 
can  gain  any  idea  of  their  untiring  energy, 
intense  vitality,  and  their  great  pugnaciousness. 
They  are  perhaps  the  most  quarrelsome  crea- 
tures in  the  world  !  With  strangers  it  is  a  case 
of  '  war  to  the  death.'  For  instance,  a  second 
shrew  was  caught  one  day,  and,  as  I  did  not 
know  at  that  time  the  trouble  which  would 
certainly  follow,  I  popped  it  into  the  c  Atom's  ' 
cage.  In  great  excitement  the  '  Mighty  Atom  ' 
rushed  out,  followed  the  newcomer  round  the 
cage,  and  then  under  the  moss.  The  stranger 
was  an  old  shrew  clad  in  dark  fur,  and  when  I 
heard  a  great  deal  of  squeaking  going  on  under- 
ground I  was  afraid  lest  the  '  Atom  '  should 
be  getting  into  trouble.  All  the  day  the 
squeaking  continued,  only  stopping  towards 
evening.  After  that  all  was  peace,  and  I 
hoped  they  were  settling  down  nicely,  but 

F  81 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

when  the  following  morning  I  could  only  find 
the  '  Atom,'  I  began  to  wonder  what  had 
happened.  I  could  not  find  the  second,  and  a 
careful  hunt  for  it  failed  to  discover  any  trace. 
In  the  light  of  after  experience  I  have  no 
doubt  that  the  '  Mighty  Atom  '  had  not  only 
fought  with  and  conquered  the  stranger,  but 
had  also  eaten  his  foe  ! 

Shrews  are  not  at  all  particular  what  they 
eat,  meat,  cheese,  and  such  things  being  taken 
readily  in  addition  to  their  proper  fare,  which 
is  grubs  and  insects  of  all  kinds.  Like  many 
other  insect-eating  creatures  they  have  very 
quick  digestions,  and  if  short  of  food  soon 
starve  to  death.  For  a  shrew  an  hour  is  a 
very  long  time  to  go  without  eating,  and  a  fast 
of  only  two  or  three  hours  is  fatal.  This  is 
one  of  the  reasons  that  shrews  hunt  by  day  as 
well  as  by  night,  for  food  must  be  got  at  any 
cost. 

However  delicate  an  animal  the  common 
shrew  may  be,  the  pigmy  or  lesser  shrew  is  still 
more  fragile.  It  is  the  weest  creature  that 
you  can  imagine.  Just  like  its  bigger  relation 
in  colour,  its  body  at  full  stretch  is  barely 
two  inches  in  length,  that  of  the  common 
shrew  being  about  three  inches  when  laid 
82 


SHREWS 

out  straight.  It  is  a  slim  mite,  too,  not 
being  nearly  so  bulky,  and  it  seems  a  mere 
wisp  of  fur  and  life  rather  than  a  fierce 
shrew.  It  is  the  smallest  European  mammal, 
being  less  in  size  than  even  the  tiny  harvest 
mouse.  Despite  its  smallness  the  lesser  shrew 
is  found  in  many  places  where  there  are  no 
common  shrews.  It  is  the  only  shrew  found 
in  Ireland,  where  neither  the  water  nor  common 
shrews  occur.  It  has  also  got  to  many  out- 
of-the-way  islands  which  the  other  shrews  have 
not  reached.  Yet  in  the  greater  part  of 
England  it  is  not  very  common.  However,  if 
you  meet  with  a  very  small  shrew  that  has  a 
tail  which,  compared  with  the  length  of  its 
body,  is  longer  than  that  of  the  ordinary  shrew, 
you  may  be  sure  that  it  is  a  pigmy.  One  of 
the  best  ways  to  find  out  what  mice  and 
shrews  there  are  in  a  neighbourhood  is  to  hunt 
about  beneath  the  spot  where  an  owl  roosts; 
here  you  will  find  oval  bundles  of  fur  and 
bones,  which  are  the  pellets  or  castings  that  the 
bird  throws  up  after  every  meal.  Owls  swallow 
their  food  wholesale,  fur,  bones,  and  all.  Then 
this  stuff  which  cannot  be  digested  is  thrown 
up  again,  and  by  examining  it  you  will  find 
out  exactly  what  the  owl  has  eaten  lately. 

83 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

For  instance,  I  opened  twenty-eight  castings 
taken  from  beneath  the  roosting-place  of  a  barn 
owl,  and  found  the  bones  of  forty-four  common 
shrews,  two  pigmy  shrews,  twenty-seven  field 
voles,  five  bank  voles,  nine  long-tailed  mice, 
eighteen  house  mice,  and  seven  young  rats, 
also  the  remains  of  three  birds.  This  was  what 
the  bird  had  caught  in  twenty-eight  nights,  for 
each  casting  was  the  result  of  a  night's  hunting. 
Considering  what  a  fragile  little  animal  the 
lesser  shrew  is,  it  is  wonderfully  plucky,  and  to 
see  one  attacking  a  black  beetle,  which  com- 
pared with  the  shrew  was  no  small  insect,  was 
an  amusing  sight.  It  was  a  very  active  beetle, 
one  of  those  hard,  shiny  kinds,  that  can  run 
almost  as  fast  as  a  mouse,  but  after  a  short  chase 
the  shrew  had  it,  though  the  beetle  struggled 
frantically,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  it  gave 
the  shrew  several  nips  on  its  long  nose  !  At 
last  the  shrew  got  a  good  grip  of  it  and  held 
it  down,  and  while  it  was  still  kicking  began  to 
eat  its  soft  parts.  The  beetle  was  then  made 
short  work  of,  and  soon  only  its  hard  fore-part 
and  shiny  wing  cases  were  left.  This  same 
lesser  shrew  would  rush  at  a  worm  at  least  five 
times  longer  than  itself  and  which  appeared 
much  stronger,  seize  it  by  the  tail,  spring  out 
84 


THE   PIGMY   OR   LESSER   SHREW 

(photographed  from  life 
and  §  life  size) 


THE  WATER   SHREW 

A  specimen  that  was  found  lying  dead  on  a  pathway,  having  died 

mysteriously,  as  do  hundreds  of  shrews  each  autumn 

(J  life  size) 


SHREWS 

of  the  way  of  its  squirmings,  jump  at  its  head, 
give  it  two  or  three  nips,  away  again,  and 
another  bite  at  the  tail ;  after  which  it  re- 
turned to  the  head  of  the  unfortunate  worm, 
gave  it  a  fierce  tug  and  pulled  it  under  the  moss. 
Indeed  the  lesser  shrew  does  not  seem  to  have 
room  for  fear  in  its  tiny  brain,  and  will  un- 
hesitatingly attack  creatures  much  bigger  than 
itself.  The  one  mentioned  above  when  put 
for  a  few  moments  into  the  same  cage  as  three 
bank  voles,  which  had  been  there  for  some 
time  and  had  made  themselves  a  very  nice 
comfortable  bed,  quickly  invaded  their  nest, 
turned  them  out,  and  made  itself  at  home 
therein.  One  bank  vole  went  back  to  try  and 
turn  it  out,  but  instantly  there  was  a  shrill 
squeak,  a  tiny  open  mouth  showing  an  array  of 
wee  teeth  appeared  in  the  entrance,  and  the  vole 
tumbled  backwards  in  a  great  fright.  As  the 
latter  was  several  times  bigger  than  the  shrew, 
its  fear  of  the  tiny  stranger  seemed  rather 
silly! 

The  water  shrew  is  quite  different  from  the 
common  and  pigmy  kinds,  being  a  handsome 
species,  black  above,  white  below,  and  generally 
marked  with  white  at  the  tips  of  the  ears.  It 
is  bigger,  too,  being  about  three  and  a  half 

85 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

inches  in  length.  It  is  usually  found  near 
ditches  and  streams,  being  fond  of  water,  as 
it  is  an  expert  swimmer  and  diver.  However, 
it  sometimes  comes  into  the  garden,  especially 
if  there  is  a  damp  ditch  beside  the  fence,  and  I 
once  found  a  fine  one  lying  dead  on  a  doorstep, 
which  seemed  to  have  died  a  natural  death  as 
there  was  no  sign  of  having  been  caught  by 
a  cat.  Like  the  other  two  kinds  it  dies  in 
numbers  in  the  autumn,  and  whatever  is  the 
cause  in  their  case  affects  this  shrew  as  well. 
As  a  rule  it  is  only  by  finding  these  dead  ones 
that  you  know  there  are  water  shrews  about, 
for  it  is  a  shy  retiring  little  animal,  and  there 
may  be  a  colony  close  to  your  door  and  you 
will  never  know  of  them.  Once,  when  I  wanted 
some  water  shrews  very  badly,  I  hunted  all  the 
streams  and  ditches  for  a  long  way  round  my 
home,  only  to  find  there  had  been  plenty  of 
them  quite  close  at  hand  of  which  I  knew 
nothing  whatever.  When  one  does  catch  a 
glimpse  of  a  water  shrew  it  is  a  most  fascinating 
little  creature.  It  comes  out  of  its  hole  and 
runs  to  and  fro  at  the  margin  of  the  water, 
picking  its  way  delicately,  then  pausing  to 
snuff  the  air— the  '  newspaper  '  of  all  animals 
save  man— then  it  will  swim  across  the  stream, 
86 


SHREWS 

floating  quite  high  in  the  water  as  it  paddles 
along,  so  that  its  body  is  only  sunk  to  the  point 
where  the  white  fur  joins  the  black,  but  should 
anything  startle  it  it  is  gone  in  a  moment, 
having  dived  to  the  bottom,  only  a  few  bubbles 
showing  where  it  has  gone.  Under  the  surface 
a  water  shrew  looks  like  a  streak  of  silver,  for 
the  bubbles  of  air  that  get  caught  in  its  fur 
reflect  the  light. 

It  is  under  the  water  that  this  shrew  finds 
the  greater  part  of  its  food,  searching  among 
the  water  plants,  stones,  and  sticks  for  grubs 
and  insects,  of  which  there  are  usually  quanti- 
ties to  be  found.  But  it  is  not  particular,  and 
will  eat  almost  anything  that  comes  in  its  way, 
including  its  friend  and  neighbour  if  the  latter 
should  chance  to  die  !  A  sad  case  of  this 
happened  to  me.  With  a  great  deal  of  trouble  I 
had  managed  to  catch  two  water  shrews,  of 
whose  ways  at  that  time  I  did  not  know  much, 
so  I  put  them  together  in  one  cage,  or  rather  an 
aquarium.  This  was  arranged  with  water,  a 
bank,  dry  leaves,  growing  plants,  and  every- 
thing that  might  make  the  shrews  think  they 
were  still  at  home  by  the  stream-side.  Plenty 
of  grubs  were  there,  ready  so  that  they  should 
not  be  short  of  food,  and  by  putting  the  two 

87 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

together  I  thought  they  would  have  company. 
One  was  introduced  a  little  before  the  other. 
It  made  itself  at  home  without  any  delay, 
at  once  grabbing  a  worm  and  beginning  to 
eat  it;  when  this  was  finished  it  turned  to 
the  business  of  making  a  bed.  This  it  did 
by  sitting  under  the  heap  of  dry  grass  and 
pulling  in  the  ends  all  round,  in  which  way  it 
soon  had  a  comfortable  domed  nest.  This  did 
not  quite  satisfy  it ;  it  came  out,  began  to 
collect  the  grass  that  was  lying  about,  which  it 
took  back,  a  mouthful  at  a  time,  until  it  had 
gathered  a  good  deal  and  had  enough  to  con- 
tent it.  It  seemed  quite  happy  and  at  home, 
but  all  this  was  changed  when  I  put  in  the 
second  water  shrew.  The  newcomer  was  a 
dull-coloured  one,  brownish  on  its  under-parts, 
and  without  the  smart  white  tips  to  its  ears. 
The  first  was  a  particularly  clean  black  and 
white  shrew.  The  latter  is  the  most  usual 
type  of  colouring,  but  they  vary  between  the 
two  extremes,  and  the  dullest,  darkest 
varieties  may  be  found  living  in  the  same 
family  parties  as  the  bright  clean-marked  ones. 
Nor  are  the  different  types  peculiar  to  different 
districts. 

When  the  dark  shrew  was  dropped  into  its 
88 


SHREWS 

new  quarters  it  began  nervously  to  sniff  about 
and  find  out  what  sort  of  a  place  it  had  got  into. 
Soon  the  first  smelt  it;  out  he  came  from  his 
nest,  open-mouthed,  squeaking  furiously,  and 
knocked  the  stranger  head  over  heels!  All 
day  long  their  squeaks  could  be  heard,  the 
newcomer  being  the  one  that  made  the  most 
noise  ;  but  it  was  eating  all  right,  and  seemed 
none  the  worse  for  so  much  fighting,  so  I 
thought  they  would  soon  settle  their  differ- 
ences and  quiet  down. 

Next  morning  I  went  to  the  shrews  very 
early  for  fear  they  might  be  short  of  food, 
and  was  surprised  to  find  everything  still  and 
peaceful.  What  had  happened  ?  Had  the 
second  got  out,  and  if  not  where  had  it  got  to  ? 
But  the  truth  soon  became  apparent ;  a  search 
of  the  cage  revealed  the  black  and  white  shrew 
curled  up  in  his  nest  sleeping  the  sound  and 
happy  sleep  of  those  who  have  fought  and 
dined  well,  beside  him  being  the  head,  tail, 
feet,  and  skin  of  the  missing  shrew !  The 
little  wretch  had  not  only  killed  his  foe,  but 
eaten  every  bit  of  him  that  was  worth  eating  ! 
And  there  was  no  excuse  for  him,  for  there  were 
plenty  of  worms  and  insects  in  the  cage. 

The  water  shrew  lived  in  solitary  state  from 

89 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

that  time  forth,  devouring  worms,  spiders, 
flies,  woodlice,  bits  of  rabbit  flesh,  and  even 
cheese,  but  no  longer  able  to  indulge  in  a  feast 
on  one  of  his  own  kind.  For  a  time  I  kept 
his  cage  in  the  house  so  as  to  more  fully 
watch  his  ways,  but  he  had  such  a  strong 
musky  scent  that  other  people  objected,  and 
he  had  to  be  exiled  to  an  out-building.  Cer- 
tainly the  smell  is  strong,  far  worse  than  that 
of  the  common  shrew,  which  indeed  to  our 
noses  does  not  smell  very  much.  It  seems 
that  the  odour  of  the  water  shrew  arises  from 
the  glands  behind  the  shoulders  which  it  has 
like  the  other  two  kinds  of  shrews.  Possibly 
this  smell  helps  them  to  find  one  another,  for 
though  so  quarrelsome  when  two  strangers 
meet,  family  parties  will  live  together  in  little 
colonies.  Some  people  think  the  smell  is  a 
protection  to  these  small  defenceless  creatures, 
as  foxes,  cats,  and  dogs  will  not  eat  them,  but 
as  it  does  not  stop  these  animals  killing  great 
numbers  it  is  hard  to  see  what  difference  it 
makes  to  the  shrews  !  That  their  bodies  are 
not  eaten  makes  little  odds  once  they  are  dead. 
All  the  shrews  are  exceedingly  nimble  crea- 
tures, running,  swimming,  and  climbing  with 
surprising  skill.  Perhaps  the  lesser  shrew  is  the 
90 


SHREWS 

most  elegant,   being    a    slim    fairy-like    mite, 
while    the    water    shrew    appears    somewhat 
coarse  and  heavy  by  comparison.     It  is  not 
only  larger,  but  it  is  a  stouter,  heavier  animal ; 
indeed  it  has  many  and  considerable  differences 
from  the  common  and  lesser  shrews,  so  that  in 
scientific  classification  it  is  separated  from  them. 
Besides  these  three  shrews  there  is  a  fourth 
found  in  Great  Britain,  namely  the  Islay  shrew, 
found  on  the  island  of  that  name  off  the  coast 
of  Scotland ;  but  as  it  is  only  found  there,  we 
will  say  no  more  about  it  here  than  to  mention 
that  in  colour  it  is  somewhat  like  a  water  shrew, 
but   is   really   closely   allied   to   the   common 
shrew,  and  that  it  is  not  found  anywhere  else 
in  the  world.     Now  the  wee  pigmy  shrew  is 
not   only   found   in   most   parts   of  England, 
Ireland,  Scotland,  and  Wales,  but  throughout 
Europe  and  across  the  great  continent  of  Asia. 
It  seems  that  its  tiny  size  must  be  a  help  rather 
than  a  hindrance  in  the  struggle  for  life,  or  else 
it  could  not  have  managed  to  travel  so  widely. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  the  common  shrew  must  also 
be  called  a  very  successful  animal,  for  it  is 
certainly  one  of  the  commonest  creatures  we 
have.      As    I    have    said    before,   it  is  found 
everywhere ;  no  garden  is  without  shrews,  and 

91 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

here  they  do  no  end  of  good  by  the  amount 
of  insects  that  they  eat.  To  keep  up  their 
numbers  they  have  large  families,  six,  seven,  or 
even  more  young  ones  being  born  at  a  time. 
The  nurseries  that  I  have  found  have  been 
under  logs,  in  snug  crevices,  in  banks,  and  other 
private  corners  where  the  mother  shrew  could 
collect  a  nest  of  grass  and  leaves  and  rear  her 
babies  without  interference  by  other  creatures. 
The  little  ones  come  into  the  world  as  wee, 
naked,  blind,  pink  morsels,  but  they  grow  very 
quickly  and  their  eyes  open ;  they  develop  a 
coat,  and  are  soon  able  to  run  about  and  look 
after  themselves.  A  second  family  is  by  that 
time  engaging  the  mother's  attention,  and  each 
pair  of  shrews  probably  bring  up  in  the  course 
of  a  season  at  least  a  dozen  young  ones,  before, 
worn  out  by  all  their  labours,  they  creep  out 
from  their  holes  and  hidden  highways  to  die  in 
the  open.  Of  those  dozen  young  ones  the  odds 
are  that  but  two  will  live  until  the  next  year, 
to  rear  families  in  their  turn  and  launch  them 
into  the  world.  Owls,  hawks,  cats,  and  foxes 
take  their  toll  of  the  shrews  that  live  on  land ; 
that  river  pirate  the  pike,  even  trout  at  times, 
and  the  keen-eyed  heron  take  their  toll  of  the 
water  shrews ;  so  both  in  the  hedgerow  and  the 
92 


SHREWS 

ditch  the  same  thing  is  taking  place.  By 
these  means  shrews  like  other  wee  creatures 
are  kept  from  increasing  unduly  in  numbers, 
and  if  to  us  it  seems  dreadful  that  death  should 
be  always  on  the  watch  for  them,  it  seems  almost 
certain  that  the  small  animals  enjoy  their  life 
to  its  utmost.  Most  of  our  fears  and  troubles 
come  from  looking  forward  to  them.  If  you 
do  not  worry  about  what  is  to  come,  but  just 
enjoy  the  warm  sunshine,  the  good  food,  the 
excitement  of  the  hunt  after  insect  and  grub, 
and  the  sleep  when  tired  in  the  cosy  nest,  life 
must  be  very  jolly.  If  fear  comes  as  a  shadow 
overhead,  or  a  rustling  in  the  grass,  you  freeze 
for  the  moment,  then,  the  fright  past,  go  on 
about  your  business  happy  once  more.  When 
the  end  comes  it  is  as  a  thunder-bolt  falling 
from  the  skies,  and  carrying  off  the  victim 
before  it  knows  that  danger  was  near.  The 
sharp  pinch  of  an  owl's  beak,  the  grip  of  the 
hawk's  claws  do  their  work  instantly,  so  there 
is  no  old  age,  no  cruel  lingering  deaths  in 
Nature,  and  the  strong,  the  healthy,  and  the 
fittest  go  on  with  their  lives  happily. 

(The    British    Shrews    are — the    Common    Shrew, 
Sorex  araneus  castaneus,  peculiar  to  Great  Britain, 

98 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

but  closely  allied  to  the  Continental  form  S.  a. 
araneus ;  S.  granti,  the  new  species  discovered  on 
the  Isle  of  Islay  ;  the  Pigmy  or  Lesser  Shrew,  S.  m. 
minutus,  which  extends  from  Ireland  eastward ;  and 
Neomys  fodiens  bicolor,  the  British  Water  Shrew, 
which  is  closely  allied  to  the  Continental  N.  f. 
fodiens.) 


94 


CHAPTER  V 

TOADS   AND   FROGS 

FROGS  and  toads  are  the  most  useful  creatures 
that  we  have  in  the  garden,  for  they  eat  such 
quantities  of  harmful  grubs.  They  are  not  a 
bit  alike,  but  as  some  people  are  bothered  to 
know  which  is  which,  it  is  as  well  to  remember 
an  easy  way  of  telling  them  apart,  and  this  is 
that  a  frog  takes  long  hops  while  a  toad  merely 
walks.  Once  in  a  way  the  latter  will  take  a 
short  feeble  hop,  a  sort  of  half-hearted  one, 
but  it  is  nothing  to  the  flying  leaps  which  a 
frog  manages  with  the  greatest  ease,  and  which 
are  its  usual  means  of  getting  over  the  ground. 
Compared  with  the  toad  the  frog  is  a  very 
smart  fellow ;  he  is  daintily  marked  with  browns, 
buffs,  and  greeny-browns,  the  tints  varying  in 
shade  and  depth  of  colour  according  to  the 
weather.  The  country  people  believe  that 
when  the  frogs  are  light  in  colour  there  is  fine 
weather  coming,  but  I  think  the  change  is 
brought  about  by  the  amount  of  moisture 

95 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

present  in  the  air  and  not  by  that  which  is 
to  come.  The  frog's  skin  is  smooth  and  slimy, 
unlike  that  of  the  toad  which  is  dry  and  covered 
with  little  warty  lumps.  Many  people  say  that 
a  toad  is  an  ugly  thing,  but  if  you  look  at  one 
carefully  you  will  see  it  has  at  any  rate  one 
beauty,  and  that  is  its  gleaming  jewel-like 
eyes.  They  are  a  pale  metallic  brown  with 
reddish  lights  like  flickering  fires  in  their 
depths.  No  wonder  that  in  olden  days  silly 
persons  said  that  precious  gems  could  be  found 
in  the  head  of  the  toad ;  there  was  some  excuse 
for  the  idle  story.  Another  peculiarity  of  a 
toad's  eyes  lies  in  the  irises,  or  as  we  more 
generally  call  them  the  '  pupils.'  These  are 
not  round  like  ours,  but  are  narrow  and  slit- 
like,  and  instead  of  being  upright  slits,  such  as 
we  see  in  the  eye  of  the  cat,  they  are  horizontal 
ones.  On  either  side  of  the  head,  just  behind 
its  eyes,  the  toad  has  a  biggish  lump,  marked 
on  the  lower  side  by  a  line  of  deep  brown- black. 
These  warts  are  really  a  pair  of  glands,  from 
which  when  badly  frightened  it  can  eject  a 
fluid  which  causes  a  burning  sensation  on  tender 
skin  such  as  that  of  the  mouth,  and  which 
makes  the  owner  a  very  unpleasant  morsel 
for  dogs,  cats,  or  owls.  This  is  one  of  the 
96 


TOADS  AND  FROGS 

reasons  why  a  toad  is  seldom  in  a  hurry,  for 
he  is  well  aware  that  though  there  are  many 
creatures  which  will  eat  his  relative  the  frog 
with  pleasure,  there  is  not  one  that  looks  upon 
him  with  favour.  For  another  thing,  he  is  a 
fat,  squat,  portly  old  fellow,  not  fitted  for 
racing  about,  so  he  does  not  worry  himself, 
and  when  disturbed  waddles  calmly  off  to 
find  another  snug  hole  in  which  to  hide  until 
nightfall.  It  is  only  when  some  bird  or  beast 
makes  a  mistake  and  pounces  on  him  that  the 
toad  makes  use  of  his  defence.  He  never 
ejects  the  fluid  except  as  a  last  resort— for 
instance,  when  hurt  or  very  badly  frightened, 
and  one  can  handle  him  without  any  risk  of 
unpleasant  consequences.  In  any  case  it  is 
not  strong  enough  to  hurt  our  hands,  it  only 
being  unpleasant  in  the  mouth,  and  so  on. 
It  certainly  makes  him  a  nasty  mouthful  for  a 
dog,  fox,  owl,  or  cat ;  and  if  one  of  these  crea- 
tures pounces  on  a  toad  in  mistake  for  a  frog, 
it  drops  it  quicker  than  it  picked  it  up,  and  no 
doubt  makes  a  note  in  its  mind  to  avoid  toads 
for  the  future.  I  once  offered  a  small  toad  to 
a  young  brown  owl.  The  bird  took  it  at  once, 
gave  the  poor  thing  a  pinch,  then  dropped  it 
hastily,  and,  turning  round,  began  to  wipe  its 

G  97 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

beak  on  its  perch.  The  owl  wiped  away  so 
energetically  and  looked  so  disgusted  that  I 
could  not  help  smiling ;  but c  Hooter '  evidently 
saw  nothing  to  laugh  at  in  it,  and  ever  after 
refused  toads,  though  always  pleased  to  take 
frogs.  I  have  made  the  same  experiment  with 
other  flesh-eating  birds  and  animals,  with 
always  the  same  result.  Old  and  experienced 
ones  refusing  at  once,  young  and  innocent 
individuals  sampling  the  toad  and  then  turning 
away  with  every  sign  of  disgust. 

Though  so  well  protected,  the  toad  is  shy 
and  retiring  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year. 
He  hides  all  day  in  some  hole  which  we  may 
call  his  den,  for  it  is  his  home  to  which 
he  returns  each  morning  after  the  night's 
hunting  is  over.  This  retreat  may  be  down  a 
mouse  hole  at  the  edge  of  a  ditch,  under  a 
cabbage  plant  in  the  garden,  beneath  a  stone 
in  the  rockery,  or  down  a  crevice  behind  your 
doorstep.  As  long  as  he  can  find  a  nice 
damp  and  really  private  hole  he  does  not  mind 
where  it  is.  It  is  this  habit  that  accounts  for 
toads  being  found  in  very  strange  places, 
and  for  the  accounts  given  in  all  good  faith  of 
ones  which  are  supposed  to  have  been  found 
in  the  solid  rock  or  inside  a  growing  tree.  Of 
98 


TOADS  AND  FROGS 

course  not  even  a  toad  could  live  many  hours 
entombed  in  solid  rock  without  air,  food,  or 
light,  let  alone  the  thousands  of  years  that  it  is 
sometimes  claimed  it  must  have  been  buried. 
The  explanation  is  quite  simple.  What  happens 
is  that  a  toad  in  search  of  a  good  home  finds  a 
crack  leading  into  the  rock,  which  being  damp 
and  cool  suits  him  exactly,  so  therein  he  makes 
himself  at  home,  living  very  happily  until  a 
time  comes  when  the  stone  is  to  be  quarried 
away.  The  quarryman  having  attacked  it  the 
rock  comes  tumbling  down,  when  among  the 
bits  some  one  chances  to  espy  the  toad.  No- 
body saw  the  crack,  all  see  the  toad,  which  was 
entombed  in  the  solid  rock,  or  at  least  that  is 
what  they  say,  and  so  a  marvellous  tale  is  told  of 
how  the  creature  must  have  lived  there  without 
air,  food,  or  water  for  hundreds  if  not  thousands 
of  years !  It  may  be  taken  as  a  fact  that,  how- 
ever much  the  people  who  tell  the  stories  believe 
them,  they  cannot  be  true,  as  it  is  a  proved  fact 
that  a  toad  must  have  a  certain  amount  of 
air,  to  say  nothing  of  food,  to  keep  it  alive. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  the  toad  likes 
his  den  to  be  cool  and  damp.  A  dry  skin  is  a 
misery  to  him,  he  cannot  endure  a  hot  sun  on 
his  back;  shade  and  moisture  are  essential  to 

99 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

his  welfare,  which  is  the  real  reason  that  he 
only  roams  abroad  by  night.  His  skin  and 
tissues  are  full  of  moisture,  he  has  special 
reserves  of  water  inside  him,  and  if  kept  for 
long  in  a  hot  dry  place  would  soon  dry  up  and 
die.  I  have  seen  a  toad  which  had  fallen  into 
a  greenhouse  pit,  and  which  was  lean  and 
scraggy  when  rescued,  swell  out  in  a  basin  of 
water,  and  soon  become  once  more  a  fat  and 
comfortable-looking  creature.  The  moisture  is 
taken  into  the  tissues  by  absorbing  it  through 
the  skin,  and  that  which  is  lost  escapes  in  the 
same  way.  All  this  explains  why  the  toad  dis- 
likes the  sun  so — why  he  only  comes  out  when 
the  evening  air  begins  to  grow  chill,  the  dew 
to  fall,  and  the  light  to  fade.  Then,  with  other 
creatures  of  the  dark,  he  creeps  forth  from  his 
den.  From  the  cabbage  patch,  from  the  rows 
of  potatoes,  from  a  score  or  more  of  hiding- 
places,  the  toads  creep  forth.  Fat  and  portly 
people  they  are,  the  females  being  the  biggest, 
and  the  males  a  little  smaller,  but  all  are  stout 
and  thick-set  and  waddle  stolidly  along.  Now 
for  the  business  of  the  night !  Those  bright, 
sharp  eyes  peep  everywhere  in  the  dim  light, 
and  an  insect  here  and  an  insect  there  disappear 
as  if  by  magic.  The  deed  is  done  so  quickly 
100 


A   TOAD  CLIMBING 


TOADS  AND  FROGS 

that  one  can  hardly  see  what  happens.  You 
have  to  watch  very  carefully  to  see  the 
lightning-like  flash  of  the  tongue,  sticking  to 
the  end  of  which  the  grub  disappears  into  the 
toad's  wide  mouth.  Toads,  and  likewise  frogs, 
have  a  most  peculiar  tongue ;  instead  of  being 
fastened  like  ours  with  the  root  down  the 
throat,  it  is  attached  to  the  front  of  the  mouth, 
and  when  not  in  use  the  long  and  flexible  end 
lies  down  the  gullet.  It  is  a  long  extension 
affair,  and  can  be  shot  out  of  the  mouth  with 
surprising  quickness.  The  tip  is  coated  with  a 
wet  sticky  stuff,  so  any  small  thing  which  the 
toad  strikes  with  its  tongue  sticks  to  the  end 
and  is  drawn  back  into  the  mouth.  When  a 
toad  or  frog  sees  a  fly,  small  worm,  woodlouse, 
beetle,  or  other  insect,  it  shoots  out  its  tongue 
at  it,  seldom  missing  its  object,  for  it  has  an 
extraordinarily  good  aim,  and  in  less  time  than 
it  takes  to  tell  is  chewing  the  insect  up.  The 
whole  thing  is  done  so  quickly  that  the  eye 
can  hardly  follow  the  lightning  flash  of  the 
tongue,  and  the  grubs  that  thus  fall  victims 
are  in  the  toad's  wide  mouth  before  they  know 
that  an  enemy  is  near.  Insect  after  insect 
does  the  toad  capture  in  his  nightly  round, 
many  of  which  would  have  done  much  harm 

101 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

to  the  garden  plants,  and  his  sides  bulge  more 
and  more  as  he  waddles  on.  He  makes  his 
way  under  the  plants,  first  between  the  brussels- 
sprouts,  then  up  the  broad  bean  row,  next 
through  the  lettuces,  slugs  and  grubs  getting 
less  at  every  step,  until,  the  night's  work 
completed,  he  turns  his  steps  for  home.  The 
dawn  finds  him  at  the  entrance  to  his  den,  his 
sides  so  swollen  with  good  things  that  he  can 
hardly  squeeze  down  the  narrow  hole  wherein 
he  will  lie,  and  perhaps  dream,  all  day. 

Not  only  has  each  toad  its  own  home,  but 
it  sticks  to  that  den  and  its  own  particular 
hunting  ground  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year. 
It  knows  its  beat  as  well  as  we  know  the 
districts  round  our  homes,  and  it  makes  its 
rounds  regularly  every  night  as  long  as  the 
weather  is  mild.  With  the  chill  days  of 
autumn  a  change  comes  over  the  toad ;  it  is  no 
longer  inclined  to  wander  abroad,  and  retreats 
farther  into  its  burrow,  actually  burying  itself 
if  the  ground  is  soft  enough  to  let  it  sink  itself 
in.  Thus  protected  from  frost  and  snow,  it 
can  sleep  in  peace  until  the  return  of  warm 
weather  awakens  it  to  activity  once  more. 
Probably  the  real  reason  of  its  winter  sleep  is 
the  difficulty  of  getting  food  rather  than  any 
102 


TOADS  AND  FROGS 

wish  to  escape  the  cold.  Being  a  cold- 
blooded creature — that  is  to  say,  an  animal 
whose  temperature  is  the  same  as  that  of  the 
atmosphere  around  it — the  toad  would  not  feel 
cold  like  we  do,  for  it  has  no  heat  to  lose. 
Apart  from  being  actually  frozen,  chilliness 
does  not  annoy  either  it  or  the  frog,  but  the 
absence  of  all  insects  is  much  more  serious,  for 
food  they  must  have  if  they  are  to  go  about  as 
usual.  The  only  way  to  get  over  the  difficulty 
is  to  go  to  sleep  while  there  is  nothing  to  eat, 
and  slumber  soundly  until  grubs  are  plentiful 
once  more. 

With  the  return  of  life  in  the  spring,  when  all 
the  wild  world  is  mating  and  nesting,  a  change 
comes  over  even  the  toads  and  frogs.  The 
latter  feel  it  first ;  even  as  early  as  March,  while 
there  is  still  ice  in  the  early  mornings  on  ponds 
and  ditches,  they  journey  off  to  the  water. 
They  are  very  quiet  about  it;  you  seldom 
see  them  travelling,  and  the  first  one  knows 
of  it  is  when  masses  of  jelly-like  spawn  appear 
in  the  pools.  Now  the  toads  make  no  secret  of 
their  business ;  secure  in  the  fact  that  no  crea- 
ture will  willingly  interfere  with  them,  they 
journey  by  day  as  well  as  by  night.  The 
first  warm  shower  that  falls  early  in  April 

103 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

starts  them  off.  Every  toad  in  the  country- 
side is  taken  with  the  same  madness — they 
must  all  reach  water  cost  what  it  may  !  The 
strange  part  is  that  it  is  not  every  ditch,  pond, 
or  stream  that  will  do,  but  one  particular  pool 
to  which  they  all  make  their  way.  Why  some 
one  pond  should  be  chosen  I  cannot  tell  you, 
but  water  which  is  apparently  perfection  will 
never  be  used,  though  another  pool  not  far 
off  will  swarm  with  toads,  and  it  does  not 
follow  because  frogs  use  a  pond  that  toads 
will  also  come  to  it.  By  my  home  are  a  chain 
of  pools,  five  in  number,  and  to  two  of  these 
the  toads  come  in  thousands,  but  the  others, 
which  as  far  as  I  can  see  would  do  just  as  well, 
are  never  used  at  all.  From  far  and  wide  they 
come  to  the  chosen  ponds.  What  is  the  farthest 
that  they  come  I  cannot  say ;  all  I  know  is  that 
no  other  pond  is  used  by  toads  within  a  mile 
and  a  half  and  perhaps  farther  in  any  direction, 
so  many  of  these  toads  must  have  travelled  a 
mile  or  more,  which,  compared  with  the  size 
of  the  creature,  is  a  great  distance.  How  do 
they  know  where  these  pools  are,  how  do  they 
find  their  way  ?  They  most  certainly  have 
never  been  near  them  since  the  day  when  they 
left  the  water  and  set  about  as  miniature  toads 
104 


TOADS  AND  FROGS 

to  earn  a  living  on  dry  land.  The  greater 
number  were  but  tadpoles  last  time  they  were 
in  that  water.  However,  they  do  find  their 
way  back,  and  the  only  answer  we  can  make  to 
the  question,  how  do  they  do  it  ?  is  to  say  by 
instinct !  Which  is  not  a  really  good  answer,  for 
we  know  so  little  about  how  instinct  works  that 
it  is  much  like  saying  that  we  do  not  know. 

At  any  rate  we  know  that  a  common  impulse 
sets  all  the  toads  over  a  wide  district  travelling 
to  one  particular  piece  of  water;  that  many 
meet  with  mishaps  by  the  way,  being  run  over 
by  carts,  trodden  on  by  cattle  and  horses,  etc., 
etc.,  but  a  very  great  number  arrive  safe  and 
sound.  This  past  spring  I  tried  to  estimate 
how  many  there  were  in  the  ponds  just  men- 
tioned, but  they  defied  all  counting.  There 
were  many  thousands ;  the  water  seemed  alive 
with  them,  and  no  one  who  had  not  seen  them 
could  have  believed  that  there  were  so  many 
toads  in  the  district.  Now  frogs  when  spawn- 
ing are  very  shy,  diving  to  the  bottom  of  the 
water  the  second  any  one  comes  near,  but  the 
toads,  secure  in  their  nastiness,  are  not  so  shy, 
but  float  about  on  the  surface,  singing  until  the 
air  is  filled  with  their  croaks.  It  seems  strange 
to  speak  of  the  croaking  of  toads  as  singing, 

105 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

but  such  it  really  is,  just  as  much  as  the  voice 
of  a  bird  is  a  song. 

Soon  the  rushes  and  under- water  plants  are 
hung  and  roped  about  with  strings  of  spawn. 
The  eggs  of  the  toad  are  in  long  ropes,  each 
consisting  of  a  double  line  of  black  specks 
embedded  in  a  jelly-like  substance.  Frog's 
spawn  is  always  in  masses,  each  egg  being  a 
ball  of  jelly  with  a  black  centre,  which  is 
attached  on  all  sides  to  other  balls.  In  the 
strings  belonging  to  the  toad  the  jelly  of  one 
egg  is  merged  in  that  of  the  next,  so  that 
there  is  no  clear  line  between  them.  It  is 
just  a  rope  of  gelatine  with  black  spots,  about 
the  side  of  the  top  of  a  black-headed  pin, 
embedded  in  it.  These  black  beads  are  the 
future  tadpoles.  Each  pair  of  toads  produce 
anything  from  three  thousand  to  six  thousand 
eggs— we  will  say  for  the  sake  of  argument  about 
five  thousand;  and  as  every  pair  in  the  pond 
does  the  same  you  get  some  idea  of  the  millions 
of  little  tadpoles  that  will  presently  hatch  out ! 
From  this  we  get  some  conception  too  of  the 
great  loss  of  life  there  must  be  in  the  toad 
world  despite  the  toad's  protection  from  flesh- 
eating  birds  and  beasts ;  for  on  an  average,  out 
of  those  four  thousand  or  five  thousand  eggs, 

106 


TOADS  AND  FROGS 

only  two  young  toads  will  live  to  grow  up  and 
come  back  to  the  pond  to  breed  in  their  turn ! 
All  the  rest  die  by  one  means  or  another  before 
they  come  to  maturity.  But  before  going  into 
the  question  of  all  the  dangers  that  the  wee 
tadpoles  have  to  face,  I  must  mention  that  the 
old  toads  have  a  water-side  foe  which  wages 
war  upon  them,  and  that  is  the  common  brown 
rat.  So  far  as  I  am  aware,  the  rat  is  the  only 
creature  that  will  attack  and  kill  the  common 
toad,  though  even  then  it  does  not  do  so  for 
food,  the  bodies  never  being  eaten,  but  merely 
for  mischief.  I  have  seen  the  corpses  of  scores 
of  toads  lying  in  heaps  at  the  water-side,  killed 
and  their  middles  torn  open,  but  no  part  eaten, 
while  the  tracks  around  in  the  soft  mud  told 
only  too  plainly  the  story  of  the  murderer. 
The  common  rat  is  nearly  as  much  at  home  in 
the  water  as  the  real  water-rat  or  water-vole; 
but  the  latter  is  a  very  harmless  creature  and 
never  interferes  with  toads  or  anything  else, 
living  chiefly  on  grass  and  leaves. 

A  week  or  more  passes,  and  then  the  toads, 
their  spring  madness  over,  leave  the  water  as 
suddenly  as  they  came;  one  day  the  pool  is 
full  of  them,  the  next  they  are  gone,  and  it 
knows  them  no  more  until  April  comes  round 

107 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

again.  In  the  meantime  those  who  have 
survived  the  troubles  and  dangers  of  the  great 
adventure  are  journeying  home,  but  more 
accidents  happen  before  they  get  safe  to  their 
old  quarters,  such  as  tumbles  into  deep  ruts, 
whence  escape  is  impossible,  and  a  blazing  sun 
brings  the  prisoner  to  a  miserable  end ;  being 
crushed  under  foot  by  passing  beasts  and  men, 
etc. ;  but  however  many  are  lost  by  the  way, 
there  are  enough  tadpoles  coming  into  the 
world  to  make  up  for  all  accidents. 

In  a  week  or  longer,  according  to  the  temper- 
ature of  the  water,  the  tadpoles  begin  to  hatch. 
The  jelly  absorbs  the  water  and  swells  greatly, 
the  black  beads  get  larger,  and  a  slit  shows  at 
their  sides ;  then  they  become  more  like  miniature 
dumb-bells,  by  which  time  they  have  worked  up 
to  the  surface  of  the  jelly,  through  which  they 
push  their  way,  falling  on  the  mud  at  the  bottom 
of  the  pond  as  very  tiny  tadpoles.  When  first 
hatched  frog  tadpoles  have  quite  good  tails, 
but  toad  tadpoles  when  newly  emerged  have 
hardly  a  vestige ;  however  it  grows  very  quickly, 
and  is  soon  quite  useful  to  steer  with.  At  first 
the  little  things  just  lie  where  they  fell,  but 
soon  they  begin  to  wriggle  about,  and  then  to 
swim.  In  their  early  stages  they  breathe  by 

108 


TOADS  AND  FROGS 

means  of  gills  which  absorb  oxygen  from  the 
water ;  but  as  they  get  older  these  organs  are 
absorbed,  lungs  develop  in  their  place,  and  the 
tadpoles  have  to  swim  up  to  the  surface  and 
get  a  supply  of  air  whenever  they  feel  in  need 
of  it.  To  begin  with,  the  tadpoles  only  eat 
vegetable  matter,  but  with  increasing  age  they 
develop  a  liking  for  something  stronger,  and 
eat  any  animal  matter  they  can  find,  including 
each  other  when  food  gets  scarce  !  This  is 
sure  to  happen  among  those  kept  in  a  jar  or 
bowl  unless  they  are  well  fed.  A  few  bits  of 
meat  dropped  in  will  prevent  such  tragedies. 
Many  a  tadpole  falls  a  victim  to  its  friends  in 
this  way,  and  there  are  other  ways  in  which 
they  come  to  an  untimely  end.  There  is  the 
grub  of  the  great  water  beetle,  which  is  a  most 
fearsome  creature,  being  a  perfect  tiger  among 
the  lesser  things  of  the  watery  world.  It  has  a 
pair  of  strong  jaws,  and  when  once  it  has 
grasped  a  tadpole  in  them  it  never  lets  go  until 
it  has  sucked  its  life  juices  dry.  The  water 
beetle  1  is  itself  a  danger,  perhaps  an  even 
greater  one  than  its  grub,  for  it  too  sucks  the 
life  juices  from  tadpole  after  tadpole.  Another 
monster,  which  lies  in  waiting  among  the  water 

1  The  great  Water  or  Tiger  Beetle,  Dytiscut  marginalis. 

109 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

plants,  or  hidden  in  the  mud,  and  clasps  in  a 
fatal  embrace  any  unfortunate  tadpole  that 
comes  near,  is  the  water  scorpion,1  a  flat-bodied 
brown  insect  that  you  would  never  notice  as  it 
lies  waiting  for  its  victims.  Many  other  crea- 
tures also  prey  on  the  tadpoles,  but  there  are 
such  numbers  that  their  ranks  are  not  even 
thinned.  In  the  ponds,  of  which  I  wrote  a  page 
or  two  back,  they  are  so  many  that  the  water 
in  places  is  blackened  by  them.  Sometimes  a 
stream  of  tadpoles  will  set  out  from  one  bank 
of  the  pool  to  swim  to  the  opposite  side,  when 
they  will  appear  like  a  dark  ribbon  across  the 
pond.  Then  you  will  see  another  lot  swimming 
along  the  side.  What  causes  these  move- 
ments I  cannot  say,  unless  it  is  changes  in 
the  temperature  of  the  water.  Perhaps  they 
have  their  own  reasons  which  we  cannot 
understand.  No  doubt  if  a  being  from  another 
world  was  to  look  down  on  a  London  street 
from  above,  he  would  wonder  why  the  queer 
little  things  in  the  streets  below  him  went  all 
one  way  on  one  side  of  the  street  and  the 
opposite  way  on  the  other  side.  It  is  the  toad 
tadpoles  of  which  I  am  speaking  when  I 
mention  the  crowd  movements,  for  the  frog 

1  The  Water  Scorpion,  Nepa  cinerea. 
110 


TOADS  AND  FROGS 

tadpoles  are  more  independent  and  move  about 
separately.  I  have  not  seen  them  take  part 
in  these  to-and-fro  migrations,  but  each  one 
goes  its  own  way  as  suits  it  best.  The  two 
kinds  can  easily  be  told  apart,  even  in  the 
water,  as  the  toads  are  always  smaller  and 
darker,  being  almost  black.  Those  of  the  frogs 
grow  very  fast  and  become  a  lighter  brown. 

Both  kinds  soon  begin  to  develop  legs,  the 
hind  ones  growing  first.  If  you  should  find  a 
fawn-coloured  tadpole  with  its  fore  legs  well 
grown  and  the  hind  ones  hardly  showing,  it 
is  neither  a  frog  nor  a  toad  tadpole  but  that 
of  a  newt.  In  the  young  of  the  toad  and  frog 
the  hind  legs  are  well  developed  before  the 
fore  legs  begin  to  show.  In  these  early  stages 
it  does  not  matter  to  the  young  creature  if  a 
friend  or  enemy  chances  to  nip  off  a  toe  or 
two,  or  even  its  leg,  for  they  will  grow  again 
at  once!  When  the  fore  legs  are  well  grown 
a  further  change  sets  in ;  the  long  tail  gets  less 
and  less,  it  is  being  absorbed  into  the  body, 
and  every  day  the  tadpole  becomes  more  and 
more  frog-like.  When  only  a  vestige  of  tail  is 
left,  a  further  change  takes  place,  and  this  is 
in  the  future  frog's,  or  toad's,  outlook  upon  life. 
A  day  or  two  before  it  had  no  thought  of  any 

111 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

place  but  its  watery  world;  suddenly  it  has 
begun  to  crave  for  dry  land.  The  first  showery 
day  or  damp  evening  that  occurs  after  that 
finds  it  making  its  way  over  the  muddy  margin, 
and  thence  to  the  shelter  of  the  pond-side  reeds 
and  rushes.  It  is  no  longer  a  tadpole  but  a  wee 
toad  or  frog  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in 
length.  Many  hundreds  lose  their  lives  at  this 
stage,  tumbling  into  the  footprints  of  horses 
and  cattle  which,  baked  hard  by  the  summer 
sun,  have  become  wells  from  which  such  tiny 
creatures  cannot  escape.  Those  that  get  past 
the  footprints  in  the  mud  by  the  pond  have 
cracks  in  the  ground  and  other  pitfalls  to 
negotiate;  but  a  certain  lucky  proportion  get 
clear  away,  and,  living  on  tiny  insects,  thrive 
and  grow  up  to  become  in  their  turn  the  parents 
of  countless  thousands  of  tadpoles. 

It  is  worth  mentioning  that  if  tadpoles  do 
not  get  enough  to  eat  they  may,  instead  of 
growing  up  into  frogs  at  once,  remain  tadpoles 
throughout  the  following  winter.  I  knew  a 
case  of  this  happening  in  a  basin  in  a  green- 
house. The  tadpoles  being  very  short  of  food 
were  not  able  to  grow,  and  it  was  the  following 
spring  before  they  became  frogs,  but  this  of 
course  is  most  unusual. 
112 


TOADS  AND  FROGS 

Frogs  are  altogether  more  lively  creatures 
than  toads ;  they  not  only  take  flying  leaps 
instead  of  proceeding  at  a  sedate  walk,  but 
you  will  find  them  abroad  in  the  daytime  in 
damp  places.  This  seems  rather  risky  on  their 
part,  as  so  many  birds  and  beasts  like  them  for 
a  meal.  Owls,  buzzards,  badgers,  and  polecats 
eat  them  greedily.  Snakes  too  catch  frogs, 
though  sometimes  in  captivity  they  will  go  on 
hunger  strike  and  refuse  even  the  nicest  of  small 
frogs.  I  remember  one  grass  snake,  a  particu- 
larly nice  one,  which  would  not  eat,  and  I  had 
to  catch  small  frogs,  kill  them,  and  then  stuff 
the  bodies  down  its  neck.  At  last  it  got  tired 
of  forcible  feeding,  and  ate  just  when  I  did 
not  want  it  to.  Thinking  it  was  quite  safe  with 
frogs  as  it  would  not  touch  them  when  offered, 
and  being  short  of  room,  I  put  it  in  the  same 
case  with  some  green  tree  frogs,  but  in  a  few 
moments  heard  a  curious  noise  and  hurried 
to  the  cage  in  time  to  see  the  last  of  my 
little  frogs  disappearing  down  the  snake's 
neck  !  I  was  too  late  to  save  it.  The  noise 
I  had  heard  had  been  its  last  gasping  cry. 

The  common  frog  is  a  very  prettily  marked 
creature,  with  its  varying  shades  of  greeny- 
browns,  buffs,  bright  browns,  and  not  only  do 

H  113 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

different  ones  vary  very  much,  but  the  same 
frog  will  differ  from  day  to  day,  the  change 
being  apparently  due  to  the  amount  of  moisture 
present  in  its  surroundings.  Toads  too  can 
change  colour,  and  one,  which  the  first  day 
was  a  pretty  mixture  of  buffs  and  browns, 
was  on  the  second,  after  being  kept  for  the 
night  under  a  flower-pot,  almost  black  in  tint. 
I  then  returned  it  to  the  spot  from  which  it 
came,  and  on  the  third  day  it  had  faded  back 
to  its  original  hues. 

Pretty  as  are  the  markings  of  the  common 
frog,  they  are  nothing  to  those  of  the  edible 
frog,  which  is  beautifully  decorated  with  bright 
green  on  its  back.  It  is  about  the  same  size, 
and  in  most  other  respects  is  very  like  the 
common  frog;  but  the  bright  green  at  once 
distinguishes  the  two  kinds,  not  that  any  one 
is  likely  to  confuse  them,  as  the  edible  frog  is 
not  plentiful  in  the  greater  part  of  England, 
being  only  found  in  one  or  two  places  in  the 
eastern  counties.  It  is,  as  may  be  guessed 
from  its  name,  the  kind  which  is  cooked  and 
eaten  abroad,  and  which  is  said  to  be  so 
excellent;  but  I  cannot  speak  from  personal 
experience,  as  the  two  or  three  edible  frogs  which 
I  have  had  were  far  too  interesting  and  amusing 
114 


TOADS  AND  FROGS 

to  be  killed  and  cooked.  This  kind  has  a 
most  musical  croak,  which  far  better  deserves 
the  name  of  c  song '  than  the  somewhat  harsh 
melancholy  notes  of  the  toad.  But  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  croaking  of  all  frogs  and 
toads  is  a  love  song  ! 

Besides  the  common  toad  we  have  only  one 
other  kind  of  toad  in  England,  and  that  is  the 
natterjack.  It  is  much  smaller,  a  rather  light 
grey  in  colour,  and  has  a  pale  stripe  up  its 
back.  This  whitish  stripe  distinguishes  it  at 
once  from  even  small  light-coloured  examples 
of  the  ordinary  toad.  It  is  quite  a  pretty  little 
creature,  and  not  so  squat  and  solid  looking 
as  our  better  known  friend,  but  just  like  the 
latter  in  its  ways  and  behaviour.  It  is  not 
very  common,  and  is  usually  found  on  sandy 
soils. 

To  go  back  to  the  subject  of  tadpoles,  if  any 
boy  or  girl  wants  to  know  something  about 
their  development,  nothing  is  simpler  than  to 
put  a  few  in  a  basin,  which  is  better  than  the 
time-honoured  jam-jar,  and  therein  watch  them 
grow  and  change.  If  a  little  gravel  is  put  at 
the  bottom  and  some  water  weeds  planted  in 
it,  they  will  keep  the  water  pure  and  it  will 
not  want  changing.  After  the  first  week  or 

115 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

so  the  tadpoles  should  be  provided  with  tiny 
bits  of  meat  as  food,  for  if  this  is  not  done 
they  will  be  sure  to  eat  each  other !  The 
smaller  ones  go  first,  and  then  the  bigger,  until 
only  one  or  two  fine  fat  tadpoles  are  left  to  tell 
the  tale.  When  their  tails  begin  to  shrink  a 
stone  should  be  put  in  the  basin  so  that  the  wee 
frogs  may  have  an  island  to  climb  out  upon 
when  they  are  ready  to  leave  the  water.  Don't, 
however,  do  what  I  once  did.  I  had  a  lot  of 
tadpoles  of  which  I  was  very  proud,  having 
taken  a  great  deal  of  trouble  with  them  and 
reared  them  to  the  stage  when  they  were  just 
becoming  frogs.  I  made  a  delightful  island 
for  them  to  land  on,  having  found  a  big  stone 
with  holes  in  it,  which  would  hold  soil,  so  that 
I  was  able  to  plant  small  ferns  and  other  little 
plants  on  it  and  make  a  most  realistic  island. 
The  tiny  frogs,  with  their  stumpy  tails  not 
quite  absorbed,  seemed  to  like  my  arrange- 
ments; they  came  out  of  the  water  and  sat 
about  under  the  ferns.  Unfortunately  on 
the  second  morning  after  they  had  left  the 
water  I  had  to  go  out  for  the  day.  The  bowl 
and  its  contents  were  left  in  a  window,  which 
in  the  morning  was  nicely  shaded,  but  which  I 
forgot  received  the  full  blaze  of  the  afternoon 
116 


TOADS  AND  FROGS 

sun.  Even  now  the  horrid  tragedy  that  I 
found  when  I  got  home  comes  vividly  back  to 
my  mind.  The  island  was  dry  and  brown, 
its  ferns  and  mosses  withered  and  dead,  and, 
worst  of  all,  the  poor  little  frogs  dried  up  and 
dead  too ! 

So  my  advice  to  those  who  wish  to  rear 
tadpoles  is,  do  not  leave  the  bowl  where  the 
sun  may  shine  upon  it,  and,  as  the  little  frogs 
are  difficult  to  find  the  right  sort  of  food  for, 
let  them  go  as  soon  as  they  are  frogs. 

(The  particulars  of  the  British  Frogs  and  Toads  are 
as  follows  : — Rana  tempwaria,  the  Common  Frog, 
plentiful  everywhere ;  R.  esculenta,  found  in  a  few 
places  in  the  eastern  countries  of  England,  and  pro- 
bably originally  introduced  from  the  Continent ;  the 
Common  Toad,  Bufo  vulgaris,  numerous  throughout 
the  country ;  and  the  Natterjack,  B.  calamito,  which 
is  found  in  widely  separated  parts  of  the  country,  but 
is  nowhere  plentiful.) 


117 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE 

THE  long-tailed  field  mouse  is  a  very  neat, 
dainty  creature,  quite  a  different  little  animal 
from  the  musty-smelling  grey  house  mouse. 
It  has  great  black  eyes  looking  ready  to  jump 
out  of  its  head,  large  sensitive  ears,  long 
quivering  whiskers,  a  sleek  slim  body,  a  very 
long  tail,  and  dainty  paws  like  miniature  hands 
with  which  it  is  constantly  washing  its  face, 
fawn  back,  and  white  waistcoat.  I  have 
called  its  fur  'fawn,'  but  it  is  really  a  very 
pretty  shade  of  light  yellowish  brown,  some- 
what darker  on  the  back,  where  some  of  its 
hairs  are  tipped  with  black.  Though  its  under- 
parts  appear  white,  it  is  only  the  tips  of  the 
hairs  which  are  colourless,  the  bases  being  grey. 
One  can  see  this  well  when  the  mouse  is  cleaning 
itself  and  parts  the  fur  with  its  paws.  It  is 
a  treat  to  see  a  long-tailed  field  mouse  washing 
itself,  for  it  does  the  work  so  thoroughly. 
It  sits  up  on  its  hind  legs,  licks  its  fore  paws,  and 


THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE 

rubs  with  them  behind  its  ears,  drawing  them 
forward  over  the  ears,  down  its  face,  and  over 
its  eyes,  in  exactly  the  same  way  as  a  cat 
washes  her  face.  After  each  rubbing  the  paws 
are  licked  afresh,  until  at  last  satisfied  as  to 
its  head  and  neck  the  mouse  twists  round  and 
begins  to  clean  its  back.  Parting  the  fur 
with  its  '  hands,'  it  licks  each  bit  with  its 
wee  pink  tongue,  going  carefully  over  it  all. 
Not  a  hair  is  missed,  every  scrap  is  done 
thoroughly,  and  there  is  nothing  of  the  'lick 
and  a  promise '  about  its  work.  Its  back 
finished,  it  begins  on  its  stomach,  the  whole  of 
the  *  waistcoat '  being  done  as  carefully  as  the 
rest.  Hind  legs  and  feet  having  been  well 
licked,  it  then  picks  up  that  long  tail  (and  what 
a  long  thin  tail  it  is),  licks  it  from  base  to  tip, 
when,  the  business  completed  at  last,  it  is  able 
to  give  itself  a  little  shake  to  settle  in  place  the 
very  last  hair,  and  go  off  about  its  business 
the  very  smartest  of  well-groomed  mice.  But 
should  it  get  a  fright  of  any  description,  which 
is  very  likely  to  happen,  for  a  field  mouse  is 
continually  being  startled  by  one  thing  or 
another,  it  will,  as  soon  as  it  has  got  over  it, 
begin  and  wash  itself  again.  Whenever  a  long- 
tailed  mouse  is  upset  it  washes  itself;  if  a 

119 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

moving  shadow  makes  it  jump  and  think  that 
a  hawk  is  going  by,  it  will,  as  soon  as  it  dares 
to  move,  sit  up  and  begin  to  rub  its  face  with 
its  paws.  Indeed  this  mouse  is  one  of  the 
cleanliest  creatures  there  are,  for  even  a  person 
would  be  considered  extra  particular  if  he  or 
she  washed  their  face  more  than  three  or 
four  times  in  the  day  ! 

Though  a  '  field '  mouse,  you  must  not  mix 
the  long-tailed  field  mouse  with  the  meadow 
vole,  as  they  are  two  very  different  animals. 
It  is  very  easy  to  get  confused  between  them,  as 
some  people  call  the  latter  a  '  field  mouse  '  too, 
but  they  are  not  a  bit  alike  as  far  as  looks  go. 
The  meadow  vole  is  a  little  short,  rough,  furry 
person,  with  a  mere  scrap  of  a  tail,  and  it  only 
eats  green  food ;  the  long-tailed  mouse  is 
bigger,  very  slender  and  elegant,  with  quite  a 
short  coat,  moreover  it  will  eat  almost  anything. 
Indeed  they  are  not  alike  in  any  respect  except 
their  names,  and  do  not  even  live  in  the  same 
spots,  the  vole  keeping  to  the  meadows,  while 
the  long-tailed  mouse  is  found  in  the  hedgerows, 
cornfields,  woods,  stackyards,  and  last,  but  not 
least,  in  the  garden. 

What  mischief  a  mere  mouse  can  do  only 
those  who  have  been  bothered  by  these  small 

120 


THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE 

pests  can  imagine.  Last  spring  they  waged 
war  against  my  peas.  I  planted  a  long  row 
of  a  new  very  special  sort  which  I  was  anxious 
to  try,  but  never  one  came  up.  When  I 
looked  carefully  at  the  soil  I  found  many  tiny 
holes  had  been  dug,  and  on  turning  the  soil 
over  it  became  apparent  that  every  pea  had 
been  scratched  up  and  eaten  !  That  night  I 
set  some  traps ;  next  morning  the  culprits  were 
there,  and  they  were  all  field  mice.  Later  on, 
when  more  peas  had  been  planted,  had  grown 
up,  and  podded  well,  I  was  annoyed  to  find 
that  the  peas  were  being  eaten  in  the  pods. 
At  first  I  thought  that  birds  were  to  blame, 
then  I  thought  it  was  rats,  and  as  a  matter  of 
fact  rats  were  mixed  up  in  the  mischief,  but 
the  field  mice  were  as  bad.  Traps  set  by  the 
rows  caught  quite  a  number  that  had  been 
enjoying  themselves  on  the  peas.  They  had 
run  up  the  sticks,  and  had  either  eaten  the 
peas  where  they  hung,  or  bitten  the  pods  off, 
and  eaten  them  afterwards  on  the  ground. 

The  long-tailed  mouse  is  a  wonderful  climber ; 
it  is  almost  as  much  at  home  up  aloft  as  the 
dormouse,  whose  home  is  in  the  bushes.  I  have 
seen  a  long-tailed  mouse  run  through  a  briar 
bush,  then  jump  to  the  overhanging  branch  of  a 

121 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

small  tree,  where  it  sprang  from  twig  to  twig 
with  the  ease  and  certainty  of  a  creature  that 
had  no  fear  of  falling.  All  the  same  I  did 
once  see  an  accident.  There  was  a  small  round 
nest  of  honeysuckle  fibre  and  nut  leaves  in  a 
bramble  bush  which  had  evidently  been  built 
by  a  dormouse.  Thinking  the  dormouse  might 
be  at  home  I  poked  the  nest  to  make  sure, 
when  out  shot  a  long-tailed  field  mouse ;  it 
was  in  such  a  hurry  that  it  missed  its  footing, 
slipped  from  the  prickly  briar  stem,  but  was 
brought  up  short  by  a  thorn  catching  its  tail. 
For  a  second  it  hung  hitched  up  by  the  skin  of 
its  tail,  then  with  a  wriggle  and  kick  got  free 
and  vanished  from  sight. 

This  mouse  is  very  fond  of  taking  possession 
of  a  ready-made  and  furnished  nest,  whether 
a  dormouse's,  or  one  of  those  domed  nests 
made  by  the  chiff-chaff  and  wood  wren.  In- 
deed in  the  autumn  you  will  find  more  dor- 
mouse nests  with  long-tailed  mice  living  in 
them  than  you  will  find  occupied  by  dormice. 
I  shall  long  remember  the  first  time  that  I 
found  a  long-tailed  mouse  in  a  dormouse  nest, 
for,  seeing  the  small  neat  round  nest  in  a  bush, 
I  poked  my  finger  in  to  see  what  was  inside, 
only  to  pull  it  back  in  a  hurry,  something  which 
122 


THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE 

felt  like  a  sharp  thorn  having  run  into  it. 
As  I  drew  back  a  long  slender  mouse  jumped 
out,  scurried  off  along  the  boughs,  and  was 
lost  to  sight  among  the  leaves.  Meanwhile  I 
was  sucking  my  finger  and  thinking  what 
sharp  teeth  that  mouse  had  had !  In  many 
cases  I  am  sure  the  long-tailed  mice  not  only 
take  possession  of  such  empty  nests  as  they 
may  come  across,  but  turn  the  owners  out  of 
nests  that  they  are  living  in.  I  knew  of  an 
old  dormouse  and  young  ones  that  were  happy 
in  a  nice  nest  in  a  honeysuckle-draped  nut 
bush,  and  whenever  I  passed  I  would  shake  the 
bush  very  gently,  whereupon  the  old  dormouse 
would  pop  to  the  opening  and  look  out  to  see 
what  was  the  matter.  One  day,  instead  of  the 
lovely  furry  yellow  head  of  the  old  dormouse, 
the  sleek  pointed  face  and  beady  black  eyes  of 
a  long-tailed  mouse  appeared  in  the  opening. 
But  he  did  not  stop  to  look  at  me,  and  was 
racing  away  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell. 
However  he  was  not  easily  frightened  from  a 
comfortable  home,  and  next  day  was  back  there 
again. 

It  is  chiefly  in  the  autumn  that  the  long- 
tailed  mice  practise  climbing  and  make  their 
homes  up  aloft,  for  then  there  is  so  much 

123 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

food  to  be  found  among  the  bushes,  the  hazels 
are  loaded  with  nuts,  and  the  hedges  crimson 
with  hips  and  haws,  so  they  climb  up,  going 
out  to  the  very  ends  of  the  branches,  and  there 
gather  the  nuts  and  berries,  carrying  them 
down  to  feast  on  and  enjoy  below.  More 
often  than  not  they  carry  their  booty  to  some 
convenient  bird's  nest,  which,  deserted  since  the 
spring,  becomes  useful  once  more  ere  the 
winter  storms  tear  it  from  its  place  between 
the  forking  branches.  If  you  walk  along  a 
hedge  and  note  the  number  of  old  nests  filled 
to  the  brim  with  the  red  and  orange  fragments 
of  the  hips  and  haws,  you  can  get  some  idea 
of  what  feasts  take  place  when  the  berries 
are  ripe.  Using  these  dining  tables,  the  little 
rascals  sit  up  with  their  booty  clasped  in  their 
paws  and  gnaw  away  as  hard  as  they  can, 
scattering  around  them  the  bits  for  which  they 
have  no  use,  which  crimson  remnants  will  tell 
the  tale  next  day  of  the  joyous  dinner  of 
overnight. 

With  acorns,  nuts,  and  other  things  which 
can  be  stored  for  future  use,  the  mice  are  more 
careful.  Nearly  every  long-tailed  mouse  has 
its  underground  home  to  which  it  can  take 
treasure-trove.  When  they  sleep  in  nests  up 
124 


THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE 

aloft,  it  is  only  a  matter  of  camping  out  for 
a  few  days,  wet  or  windy  weather  quickly 
sending  them  home  to  the  snug  holes  under- 
ground. It  is  in  the  farthest  corner  of  these 
that  they  lay  up  stores  for  the  lean  days  of 
winter,  when  it  is  difficult  for  wild  creatures  to 
find  food,  especially  a  keen  active  little  mouse 
which,  unlike  some  other  creatures  of  its  size, 
never  thinks  of  sleeping  through  the  cold  hard 
times.  Nuts,  acorns,  and  grain  if  it  can  be 
had,  are  all  carried  in.  Sweet  chestnuts  are 
much  liked  too,  and  the  minute  the  nuts  begin 
to  fall  long-tailed  mice  make  for  the  chestnut 
trees.  Indeed  all  mice  are  very  fond  of  sweet 
chestnuts,  and  I  have  trapped  under  a  chestnut 
tree  in  the  middle  of  a  wood  not  only  long- tailed 
mice  and  bank  voles,  but  also  a  house  mouse  ! 
Perhaps  the  most  long-tailed  mice  are  to  be 
found  in  the  corn  fields.  As  soon  as  the  grain 
begins  to  ripen  they  leave  their  quarters  in  the 
banks  and  hedges  and  go  out  into  the  fields. 
Each  mouse  digs  itself  a  hole  about  eighteen 
inches  long,  from  which  it  can  raid  the  sur- 
rounding grain.  Here  it  lives  and  fares  even 
better  than  its  friends  that  have  stopped  in 
the  woods  and  hedges.  There  is  food  on  all 
sides  of  it,  grain  which  daily  grows  more 

125 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

golden  as  it  waves  in  the  breeze,  until  there 
comes  a  morning  when  the  rattle  and  roar  of 
machinery  in  the  field  tells  that  the  reaper-and- 
binder  is  at  work.  Soon  the  yellow  forest, 
which  towered  so  high  above  the  mice  that  ran 
between  its  stems,  is  cut,  and  lies  bound  in  neat 
sheaves  in  orderly  rows  across  the  field.  The 
world  of  the  long-tailed  mice  is  changed,  light 
floods  in  where  but  a  short  time  before  was 
shade  and  safety  from  hawk  and  owl.  It  is 
the  latter  which  is  to  be  feared  most,  for  the 
long-tailed  field  mice,  being  creatures  of  the 
dark,  are  not,  as  a  rule,  out  when  the  kestrel 
is  hovering  overhead.  But  the  birds  of  the 
night  take  their  toll :  as  the  dusk  falls  the  barn 
owl  floats  by  on  silent  ghostly  wing,  beating 
this  way  and  that  across  the  stubble,  so  that 
little  escapes  its  wonderful  eyes.  It  is  as 
noiseless  as  thistle-down  blown  before  the 
wind,  and  as  watchful  as  the  best  of  cats. 
Should  a  mouse  dash  across  from  one  stook  to 
another,  if  one  creeps  out  to  pick  up  some 
grain,  then  the  barn  owl  drops,  falling  to  the 
ground  with  open  wings,  more  like  a  kite  of 
which  the  string  has  broken  than  a  bird  of 
prey  stooping  at  its  victim,  but  beneath  that 
spread  of  downy  wings  a  mouse  is  kicking  its 
126 


THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE 

last  kick  in  the  relentless  grip  of  the  hunter  of 
the  night.  The  owl  draws  its  wings  together, 
stands  up,  takes  the  mouse  by  the  head,  gives 
its  skull  a  sharp  pinch,  gulps  the  body  down 
head  first,  pauses  for  a  minute  with  the  tail 
hanging  out  of  the  corner  of  its  beak,  gives 
another  gulp,  gets  the  tail  down,  looks  thought- 
ful for  a  moment,  then  shakes  itself,  takes  to 
the  wing,  and  is  gone  to  look  for  another  mouse. 
So  it  goes  on  until  satisfied,  and  many  mice 
disappear  never  to  be  seen  by  their  friends  again. 
All  the  same,  numbers  of  long-tailed  mice  live 
out  in  the  fields  well  on  into  the  winter,  or  at 
any  rate  the  late  autumn,  for  the  scattered 
pieces  of  corn  afford  them  good  living  for  a 
long  time.  At  last  food  gets  scarce,  the 
stores  in  the  holes  get  low,  no  more  grain  is  to 
be  found  in  the  stubble,  the  ploughing  has 
begun  too,  so  the  mice  begin  to  move.  Then 
it  is  that  they  come  to  the  houses,  out-buildings, 
and  gardens.  Every  winter  they  come  to  my 
home,  getting  even  into  the  house,  and  some- 
times committing  suicide  by  tumbling  into  the 
milk  pans  in  the  larder  !  But  the  mice  that  do 
this  are  not  the  ordinary  long-tailed  field  mice, 
but  a  larger  kind  known  as  the  yellow-necked 
mouse.  This  one  is  larger  and  handsomer  than 

127 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

the  common  long-tailed  mouse,  its  colours  are 
brighter  and  cleaner,  and  across  its  throat  is  a 
band  of  yellow  like  a  collar,  to  which  it  owes 
its  name.  In  the  smaller -kind  there  may  be 
a  spot  of  yellow  on  the  chest,  but  there  is  never 
the  complete  band,  and  more  often  than  not 
there  is  not  even  a  spot  of  buff.  The  smaller 
mouse  looks  dull  and  dark  when  put  beside  its 
big  relation.  At  one  time  these  two  types  were 
thought  to  belong  to  the  one  kind  of  mouse, 
one  scientific  name  was  considered  enough,  and 
big  and  little  were  known  as  Mus  sylvaticus,  or 
the  '  mouse  of  the  woods.'  As  long-tailed 
mice  are  found  in  all  sorts  of  places,  besides 
coverts,  this  was  not  a  good  name ;  however,  as 
it  was  that  first  given  it  has  had  to  be  kept, 
and  to  this  day  the  smaller  long-tailed  or  wood 
mouse  is  known  as  sylvaticus,  but  now  the 
bigger  type  has  a  name  as  well  and  is  called 
A.  flavicollis  wintoni,  or  the  yellow-necked 
mouse  of  de  Winton.  This  is  because  it  was 
Mr.  de  Winton  who  first  recognised  that  the 
mouse  with  the  yellow  throat  was  not  only 
bigger  than  the  other  long-tailed  mouse,  but 
that  each  kind  kept  to  itself,  and  did  not 
mix  with  the  other.1 

1  W.  E.  dc  Winton,  The  Zoologist,  vol.  xviii.,  1894,  p.  441. 
128 


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THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE 

Now  here  in  Shropshire  where  I  live  the  two 
sorts  are  equally  common;  both  invade  the 
kitchen  garden  and  steal  all  they  can,  but  only 
the  yellow-neck  is  bold  enough  to  come  into 
the  house.  Of  the  scores  of  long-tailed  mice 
that  have  been  trapped  in  the  cellars,  dairy, 
and  larder,  not  one  has  been  of  the  smaller  kind, 
but  all  have  been  the  bigger.  What  handsome 
mice  they  are ! — more  like  small  rats  than  real 
mice,  or  shall  we  say  small  kangaroos,  for  there 
is  something  nasty  about  the  word  'rat,'  and 
these  mice  are  altogether  charming  with  their 
dainty  ways,  while  their  jumping  powers  remind 
one  of  the  kangaroo.  When  put  in  a  cage 
with  a  wire  roof  eighteen  inches  high  they 
will  spring  up  to  the  top  in  one  high  hop,  and, 
clinging  to  the  netting,  run  about  upside  down. 
Two  of  the  finest  that  I  have  caught  were  taken 
in  an  ordinary  '  catch-'em-alive  '  trap. 

There  is  a  holly  bush  against  the  wall  of  the 
house,  and  I  noticed  one  morning  that  some- 
thing had  been  eating  the  berries,  carrying 
them  from  the  tree  to  my  window-sill,  and  there 
leaving  all  the  skins  and  odds  and  ends.  So  I 
got  a  trap,  set  it,  using  cheese  as  a  bait,  and  left 
it  on  the  sill.  Next  morning  I  found  the  trap 
sprung,  and  wedged  inside,  without  room  to 

i  129 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

move,  were  a  pair  of  the  finest  yellow-necks 
that  I  had  seen.  They  had  evidently  pressed 
in  together,  each  no  doubt  afraid  that  the  other 
would  get  that  tasty  smelling  morsel  of  cheese, 
and  the  spring  going  off  they  were  also  caught 
together.  Very  often  when  field  mice  are 
caught  in  ordinary  traps  their  long  tails  get 
chopped  off  by  the  door  as  it  snaps  down ; 
luckily  these  two  had  got  their  particularly 
long  tails  quite  out  of  the  way,  and  not  even 
the  tips  were  any  the  worse  for  the  owners 
having  been  trapped. 

Writing  of  their  tails  reminds  me  of  one 
thing,  and  that  is,  whatever  you  do,  if  you 
should  have  to  handle  a  long-tailed  field  mouse, 
do  not  pick  it  up  by  its  tail.  That  long  slender 
tail  looks  just  the  very  thing  by  which  to  grab 
a  mouse  as  it  is  running  away,  and  so  I  thought 
when  my  first  one  got  away.  This  was  when 
I  was  quite  a  little  girl.  A  long- tailed  field 
mouse  had  been  caught  by  the  cook  in  a  trap 
set  in  the  kitchen,  and  I  know  now  that  it  must 
have  been  a  fine  specimen  of  the  yellow-necked 
race.  I  was  fascinated  by  the  big-eyed  beauti- 
ful mouse  crouching  so  terrifiedly  in  the  trap. 
'  Oh  !  don't  give  it  to  the  cat  ?  '  I  begged  its 
captor. 
130 


THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE 

'  But  a  mouse  isn't  any  good  to  you,  Miss 
Frances,'  she  answered.  *  Besides,  these  "  grey- 
hound "  mice  do  no  end  of  harm,  they  all  want 
killing!' 

However,  by  begging  and  beseeching  I  got 
my  own  way,  and  the  dainty  timid  creature, 
instead  of  being  handed  over  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  the  cat,  was  left  to  me  to  do  what 
Hiked  with ;  I  even  managed  to  get  in  addition 
a  very  large  jam  jar  from  the  cook.  In  this 
I  put  hay  for  a  bed  and  some  bread  for  food, 
and  lastly  the  mouse,  which  nearly  got  away 
as  it  was  being  pushed  in  !— the  bit  of  wire 
netting  which  was  to  do  duty  as  a  cover  being 
only  popped  over  the  top  just  in  time.  After 
the  manner  of  its  nervous  kind  the  mouse  im- 
mediately sat  up  and  began  to  wash  its  face. 
More  fascinated  than  ever  I  watched  it  intently, 
its  wee  pink  paws,  its  quick,  dainty  movements, 
its  large  ears,  and  those  great  frightened  eyes — 
how  could  any  one  give  such  a  lovely  creature 
to  the  cat  ? 

For  several  days  the  mouse  lived  in  its 
somewhat  narrow  quarters,  but  it  was  well  fed, 
for  I  gave  it  every  dainty  that  I  could  think  of, 
and  every  day  it  grew  sleeker  and  more  grey- 
hound-like. '  Greyhound  mice  '  the  country 

131 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

people  call  them,  and  it  is  certainly  a  good 
name,  for  their  long  slim  shapes  do  remind  one 
of  thin  sleek  well-groomed  dogs.  But  a  jam 
jar  was  a  small  thing  to  keep  my  greyhound 
mouse  in,  and  those  in  authority  decreed  that 
either  the  mouse  must  be  let  go  or  fresh 
quarters  found  for  it.  It  was  my  mother  who 
found  the  new  cage,  a  big  bowl  in  which  fish 
had  been  kept ;  with  sand  on  the  bottom, 
some  grass  and  rubbish  for  nest-making,  and  a 
sheet  of  wire  netting  over  the  top,  it  would  do 
well.  The  new  abode  having  been  put  ready, 
and  all  preparations  made  for  the  removal, 
the  jam-jar  was  picked  up,  its  cover  taken 
off,  and  the  whole  turned  upside  down  over 
the  fish-bowl.  But  nothing  happened  !  The 
mouse  did  not  want  to  come  out ;  we  shook  it, 
at  first  gently,  then  more  roughly,  but  still  it 
clung  to  its  home.  A  still  rougher  shake, 
and  then  it  shot  out,  not  into  the  new  cage, 
but  on  to  the  table  !  With  a  great  spring  (it  is 
marvellous  how  these  mice  can  jump)  it  landed 
not  only  on  the  floor,  but  half  across  the  room, 
and  with  another  bound  it  had  reached  the 
shelter  of  the  bookcase.  With  a  cry  from  my 
mother,  with  a  shriek  of  despair  from  me,  we 
dashed  to  that  bookcase  :  peeping  from  behind 
132 


THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE 

it  was  a  long  thin  tail !— the  very  thing  to 
catch  the  mouse  by.  I  grabbed  at  it  eagerly, 
but,  oh  dear !— the  horrid  feeling !  I  can 
remember  the  shiver  that  went  down  my  back 
to  this  minute,  for  the  tail  skinned  between  my 
fingers !  The  mouse  was  gone,  and  I  was 
left  with  an  atom  of  skin  that  had  pulled  off 
like  a  glove.  Never  again  did  I  try  to  pick 
a  long-tailed  mouse  up  by  its  tail.  What 
happened  to  the  mouse  I  cannot  say — I  never 
saw  it  again — but  perhaps  the  cat  knew.  She 
had  always  looked  upon  it  as  her  mouse,  and 
been  much  annoyed  when  I  drove  her  away 
from  the  jar.  Whatever  its  fate,  and  I  hope 
it  got  away  out  of  the  window,  it  left  me  with 
a  great  interest  in  these  charming  little  animals, 
which  has  led  me  since  to  try  and  learn  as 
much  as  I  can  about  them ;  it  also  left  me  with 
a  firm  conviction  that  the  tail  is  not  the  right 
part  to  pick  one  of  these  mice  up  by.  So 
easily  does  the  skin  come  off  that  it  seems 
likely  that  it  is  a  special  arrangement  to  enable 
the  owner  to  get  away  from  hawks  and  owls, 
for  if  a  bird  of  prey,  seeing  something  moving 
in  the  undergrowth,  drops  down  and  grabs 
at  the  object,  it  will  as  likely  as  not  merely 
take  one  of  these  mice  by  the  tail,  when  the 

133 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

mouse  with  a  wriggle  can  get  free,  leaving  a 
much  annoyed  owl  or  hawk  with  a  mere  bit  of 
useless  skin  instead  of  the  fine  fat  mouse  that 
it  thought  it  had  caught.  As  one  frequently 
meets  with  bob-tailed  mice,  I  think  this  sort 
of  thing  must  happen  quite  often.  It  has 
been  stated  in  books  that  after  an  accident  of 
this  sort  the  mouse  always  bites  the  bare  bone 
off  at  the  point  where  the  skin  broke.  This 
is  certainly  a  mistake,  for  I  have  had  numbers 
of  long-tailed  mice  which  in  one  way  or  another 
had  had  their  tails  skinned,  and  not  one  of 
them  attempted  to  bite  the  bone  off,  but  let 
it  stay  until  it  dried  up  and  fell  off  of  its  own 
accord. 

When  kept  in  a  cage  field  mice  are  not  only 
most  charming  and  interesting  little  creatures, 
but  they  are  so  good-natured  that  quite  a  num- 
ber can  be  kept  together  without  any  fear  of 
quarrelling.  They  are  not  rude  and  unpleasant 
to  newcomers  like  the  bank  voles,  who  always 
go  straight  for  strangers  and  try  and  knock 
them  head  over  heels.  The  long-tailed  mice 
are  much  better  behaved ;  they  are  the  ladies 
and  gentlemen  of  the  mouse  world,  behaving 
not  only  with  consideration,  but  giving  a 
kindly  welcome  to  complete  strangers  who  may 
134 


THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE 

be  put  into  their  quarters.  I  have  often 
watched  to  see  what  would  happen  when  a 
new  mouse  was  put  into  a  cage  where  other 
mice  had  been  living  for  some  time  past. 
In  the  case  of  voles— either  bank  voles  or 
meadow  voles— there  would  have  been  no 
doubt  at  all,  for  they  would  have  at  once 
attacked  the  stranger,  and  fought  with  it  for 
hours  before  allowing  it  to  go  near  the  nest. 
In  every  case  my  long-tailed  mice  have  shown 
most  perfect  manners  as  long  as  the  stranger 
was  of  their  own  kind,  going  up  to  him,  sniffing 
him  all  over,  licking  him,  and  finally  taking 
him  into  the  nest,  where  a  little  later  I  have 
found  them  all  curled  up  asleep  together. 
Very  different  is  their  behaviour  when  yellow- 
necks  are  put  with  the  smaller  long-tailed  mice, 
the  bigger  kind  treating  the  smaller  very  badly. 
This  I  noticed  first  when  three  ordinary  long- 
tailed  mice  were  introduced  into  a  cage  where 
a  pair  of  yellow-necks  had  been  living  for  some 
time.  They  were  a  beautiful  couple,  the  male 
being  as  big  and  bright  coloured  a  specimen  as 
I  have  ever  seen :  the  newcomers  looked 
quite  dull  and  dingy  by  comparison.  The 
big  mice  came  out  of  their  nest  and  sniffed  the 
little  ones  over,  after  which  there  was  some 

135 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

squeaking,    but    the    fighting    did    not    seem 
serious,  and  I  felt  perfectly  happy  about  them. 
However,   my  confidence  was   misplaced,  for 
next  morning  one  of  the  smaller  mice  lay  dead 
on  the  bottom  of  the  cage,  and,  what  was  worse, 
was  partly  eaten  too.     As  all  mice  are  given  to 
cannibalism  when  they  find  a  friend  or  neigh- 
bour lying  dead,  I  did  not  take  much  notice  of 
the   corpse   being   eaten,  and,  knowing  what 
gentle  creatures  long-tailed  mice  are,  concluded 
the  mouse  had  died  from  an  accident  or  a  hurt 
which  it  had  met  with  before  being  put  in  the 
cage.     All  the  same  I  was  surprised  to  find 
that  the  two  other  long-tails  had  made  a  nest 
for  themselves,  and  were  not  sleeping  with  the 
yellow-necks.     Hitherto   my   long-tailed   mice 
had  always  welcomed  strangers  into  the  family 
nest,  where  they  would  all  sleep  happily  to- 
gether, but  evidently  the  yellow-necked  mice 
were  not  going  to  have  the  smaller  ones  living 
with  them.     Next  night  another  small  mouse 
died  !     Then  it  dawned  upon  me  that  murders 
had    taken    place.     It    seemed    that    the    big 
mice  looked  upon  the  smaller  race  as  quite 
different   creatures,    and    were    not   going   to 
tolerate  them  at  all !     Having  taken  away  the 
one  which  was  still  unhurt,  I  thought  I  would 
136 


THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE 

try  how  the  yellow-necked  mice  would  behave 
towards  such  a  totally  different  kind  of  mouse 
as  a  meadow  vole,  so  I  slipped  one  of  these  into 
the  cage.  In  a  few  minutes  the  male  yellow- 
neck  came  out  of  his  nest,  went  straight  at  the 
vole,  which  reared  up  on  its  hind  legs  and 
squeaked ;  but,  though  voles  are  good  fighters, 
it  was  no  match  for  the  great  yellow-necked 
mouse— it  was  knocked  head  over  heels,  and  I 
had  to  go  to  the  rescue  and  take  the  poor  little 
thing  away,  ere  it  was  badly  hurt,  for  it  had 
already  got  a  bite  in  the  leg  which  was  bleeding 
freely.  Luckily  the  vole  was  none  the  worse 
next  morning,  but  after  that  the  yellow-necks 
were  allowed  to  do  as  they  wished  and  live  by 
themselves.  From  the  way  they  had  behaved, 
it  was  evident  that  they  looked  upon  the 
smaller  long-tailed  mice  as  distinct  from  them- 
selves, as  different  indeed  as  the  meadow  vole. 
Afterwards  I  got  some  long-tailed  mice  and 
some  yellow-necked  mice  to  live  together  by 
taking  one  of  each  sort  and  turning  them 
together  into  a  new  cage.  Being  lonely  and 
in  strange  surroundings  they  soon  made  friends. 
But,  though  I  made  up  five  pairs  in  this  manner, 
and  kept  them  together  for  some  months,  not 
one  of  them  had  a  family,  which  was  what  I 

137 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

had  been  hoping  for.  In  a  wild  state  it  seems 
fairly  certain  that  these  two  races  of  mice  do 
not  mingle.  I  have  invariably  found  when 
trapping  mice,  whether  in  the  garden  or  the 
fields,  that  where  you  take  long-tails  you  do 
not  catch  yellow-necks,  and  vice  versa.  The 
only  time  I  have  seen  two  mice  together,  which 
could  possibly  have  been  one  of  either  sort, 
was  in  the  case  of  a  couple  that  invaded  a  bee- 
hive. 

It  is  an  extraordinary  thing,  but  nevertheless 
a  fact — indeed  among  bee-keepers  it  is  a  well- 
known  fact — that  field  mice  are  very  fond  of 
honey  and  will  rob  a  hive  if  they  possibly  can. 
They  appear  generally  to  make  their  way  in  on 
the  cold  autumn  nights,  when  the  bees  are 
drowsy  and  not  readily  roused  to  danger. 
I  cannot  believe  that  any  mouse,  even  the 
finest  of  yellow-necks,  would  venture  near  a 
hive  of  which  the  inmates  were  alive  and 
wakeful,  with  the  sentinels  posted  at  the  door 
ready  to  attack  all  intruders.  In  the  case  of 
the  hive  of  which  I  write  it  was  not  until 
November  that  it  was  realised  that  there 
was  anything  wrong.  The  hive  was  opened, 
and  in  a  corner  on  the  top  of  a  bar-frame  was 
a  round  ball  of  leaves  and  grass — a  mouse's 
138 


THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE 

nest !  I  grabbed  it,  hoping  to  seize  the  mice 
inside.  One  I  did  catch — it  was  a  big  yellow- 
necked  long-tailed  mouse— but  the  second 
managed  to  squeeze  through  my  fingers,  took 
a  flying  leap  into  the  grass,  where  it  was  as 
useless  to  hunt  for  it  as  to  search  for  the  pro- 
verbial needle  in  the  bundle  of  hay.  As  it 
jumped  it  struck  me  as  being  rather  small  and 
dark  for  a  yellow-neck,  so  it  may  have  been  an 
ordinary  long-tail.  If  so,  this  is  the  only  time 
that  I  have  found  these  two  mice  living 
together;  but  probably  it  was  really  a  young 
yellow-necked  mouse,  as  the  young  ones  are 
duller  and  darker  in  their  coats  than  the  old 
ones.  It  is  possible  if  one  can  handle  them  to 
tell  young  yellow-necked  mice  before  they  get 
their  full  coat  and  colouring,  as,  even  at  that 
early  stage,  the  future  yellow  collar  is  there, 
showing  as  a  dull  grey  streak  across  the 
throat. 

To  go  back  to  the  two  mice  in  the  beehive, 
what  mischief  they  had  done  !  They  had  eaten 
the  brood  comb,  the  stores  of  honey,  the  candy 
put  in  as  supplies  for  the  winter,  and  even  the 
bees  themselves.  They  had  utterly  destroyed 
them !  On  the  floor  of  the  hive  was  a  piled 
up  litter  of  bits  of  wax,  crumbled  comb,  and 

139 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

the  wings  and  bodies  of  the  murdered  bees. 
It  was  a  pitiable  sight,  and,  though  I  am  not 
particularly  fond  of  bees  (I  do  not  consider 
them  very  good-mannered  when  I  am  passing !), 
I  felt  really  grieved  to  see  such  destruction. 
As  to  what  the  owner  of  the  bees  said,  well,  I 
think,  over  that  we  had  better  draw  the  curtain. 

Long-tailed  mice  usually  have  big  families, 
and  I  have  found  five,  six,  and  seven  young  ones 
at  a  time  in  their  nests.  Like  all  mice  the  babies 
are  born  blind,  helpless,  and  naked,  but  the  pink 
mites  grow  quickly,  and  in  a  very  short  time 
have  a  coat  and  are  able  to  see  and  get  about. 
As  soon  as  the  members  of  one  family  are  able 
to  look  after  themselves  the  mother  turns  her 
attention  to  another,  and  litter  succeeds  litter 
throughout  the  summer,  so  that  in  a  warm 
dry  season  when  all  the  babies  are  reared  it 
takes  but  little  to  start  a  mouse  and  vole  plague. 
A  '  vole  plague  '  only  happens  when  the  weather 
is  suitable,  and  the  natural  enemies  of  the  mice, 
such  as  owls,  hawks,  stoats,  and  weasels,  are 
too  scarce  to  keep  the  mice  down.  Then  all 
mice  increase  and  flourish  until  they  eat  every- 
thing in  the  countryside,  but  as  a  rule  such 
a  plague  is  followed  by  mice  diseases  which 
sweep  them  away  again. 

140 


THE  LONG-TAILED  FIELD  MOUSE 

In  ordinary  times,  however,  a  mother  mouse 
is  lucky  who  rears  half  her  young,  for  cats  and 
dogs,  foxes  and  other  wild  creatures,  hunt  for 
the  carefully  hidden  nurseries,  baby  mice  being 
dainty  morsels  of  which  they  are  all  very  fond. 
I  have  found  nests  in  holes  underground,  on 
the  surface  beneath  heaps  of  hedge  brushings, 
under  fallen  logs,  and  in  old  tree  stumps. 

To  return  for  a  moment  to  the  handsome 
yellow-neck  field  mouse,  I  must  mention,  before 
closing  this  description  of  the  long-tailed  field 
mice,  that  the  yellow-necked  mouse,  though 
so  common  in  some  parts  of  the  country, 
especially  the  West-Midland  counties,  where 
sometimes  it  is  a  perfect  nuisance  in  houses 
and  gardens,  is  in  other  parts  just  as  un- 
common, and  so  far  has  not  been  found  in 
Scotland  or  Ireland. 

(The  Sylvaticus  group  are  most  variable  mice,  and 
quite  a  number  of  species  and  sub-species  are  now 
known  from  the  European  area.  It  is  a  most  inter- 
esting feature  of  our  British  mammalian  fauna  how 
groups  of  these  mice  isolated  on  islands  have  come 
to  differ  from  the  mainland  stock,  several  new  forms 
having  lately  been  described  from  the  islands  off  the 
coast  of  Scotland.  The  common  Long -tailed  Field 
Mouse  of  the  British  Isles,  Apodemus  s.  sylvaticus, 
is  the  same  as  that  found  on  the  Continent, 

141 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

but  there  is  a  sub-species  A.  s.  butei  known  only 
from  the  Island  of  Bute.  The  Field  Mouse  of  the 
Hebrides  is  regarded  as  a  distinct  species  from 
Sylvaticusi  it  is  the  A.  h.  hebridensis  of  de  Winton, 
and  four  sub-species  of  it  have  been  recognised  from 
as  many  different  islands.  There  is  not  space  to 
deal  with  them  here.  St.  Kilda  has  its  own  Long- 
tailed  Mouse,  called  A.  hirtensis.  The  peculiar  Long- 
tailed  Mouse  found  on  Fair  Island  is  A.f.fridariensis, 
and  there  is  a  sub-species  of  it  found  on  Yell,  and  on 
Mainland,  Shetland.  The  Yellow -necked  Mouse  of 
de  Winton  is  nearly  related  to  a  similar  large  mouse 
found  in  Denmark,  etc.,  but  is  sufficiently  distinct 
to  be  dubbed  A.flavicollis  wintoni.) 


142 


CHAPTER  VII 

'  THE  LITTLE  GENTLEMAN  IN  THE  BLACK 
VELVET  COAT  ' 

WHEN  the  Jacobites  drank  to  the  health  of  the 
'  little  gentleman  in  the  black  velvet  coat,' 
they  meant  the  mole  over  whose  heap  of  soil 
William  of  Orange's  horse  stumbled  in 
Richmond  Park,  throwing  the  King,  who  was 
so  hurt  that  he  never  got  over  the  fall.  In 
gardens,  allotments,  fields,  and  parks  those 
hillocks  may  be  met  with,  to  the  annoyance  of 
the  owners,  for  no  one  likes  unsightly  mounds  of 
earth  all  over  the  place,  yet,  despite  the  fact 
it  is  so  common,  most  people  know  but  little 
about  the  mole.  It  lives  entirely  underground, 
the  well-known  heaps  of  soil  being  the  results  of 
its  tunnellings.  It  seldom  comes  up  to  the 
surface,  and  then  only  for  a  moment  or  two 
to  gather  dry  leaves  and  grass  with  which  to 
make  its  nest.  It  is  so  shy  of  venturing  up 
into  the  daylight  that  it  is  seldom  a  mole  is 
seen  alive  and  unhurt.  It  seems  very  strange 

143 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

to  think  of  a  creature  living  entirely  in  the 
dark,  hardly  ever  coming  up  to  the  top  of  the 
ground  to  enjoy  the  light  and  air  like  other 
animals,  indeed  actually  disliking  the  light, 
and  going  back  to  its  dark  tunnels  as  soon  as 
it  can.  But  the  mole  is  most  perfectly  fitted 
for  its  peculiar  life,  its  body  is  just  the  right 
shape  to  push  through  the  earth,  it  has  enor- 
mously strong  fore  paws  like  broad  hands  on 
short  powerful  wrists,  which,  combined  with 
the  great  muscles  in  its  thick  shoulders,  enable 
it  to  shovel  aside  the  dirt.  It  has  really  no 
neck,  its  head  being  sunk  into  its  shoulders, 
which  makes  it  very  strong  and  able  to  lift  a 
big  weight  on  its  back.  It  has  short,  beauti- 
fully velvet-like  fur,  that  can  be  rubbed  either 
way,  and  never  gets  dirty.  It  has  keen  hearing, 
but  no  external  ears  for  the  soil  to  drop  into ; 
a  very  sharp  nose,  by  means  of  which  it  finds 
the  worms  on  which  it  lives ;  and  last,  but  not 
least,  eyes  being  no  use  to  it  in  unlit  tunnels, 
it  is  blind.  Its  eyes  are  so  very  small  that 
they  are  no  good,  it  is  even  doubtful  if  they 
serve  to  tell  light  from  darkness.  Certainly 
it  cannot  distinguish  one  object  from  another. 
These  minute  eyes  are  difficult  to  find ;  they  are 
buried  in  its  fur,  so  one  cannot  see  them  except 
144 


THE   MOLE 

(£  life  size; 


'LITTLE  GENTLEMAN  IN  BLACK  VELVET  COAT' 

by  looking  for  them  carefully.  When  you  do 
this  tiny  black  specks  will  be  found,  remains 
of  the  organs  with  which  its  ancestors  saw 
the  beauties  of  the  world  ere  moles  took  to 
living  in  tunnels  under  the  ground.  Perhaps 
it  was  their  keenness  for  worms  that  first  made 
them  drive  holes  into  the  soil,  for  they  eat  an 
enormous  quantity.  The  appetite  of  a  mole 
is  extraordinary,  and  it  has  a  very  rapid 
digestion,  so  it  cannot  go  long  without  food, 
even  a  fast  of  only  a  few  hours  often  being 
fatal.  I  have  known  two  cases  of  moles  being 
starved  to  death.  In  the  first  a  workman, 
who  knew  I  wanted  a  mole  alive  and  unhurt, 
found  one  when  turning  over  some  rubbish, 
caught  it  before  it  could  dig  into  the  ground, 
and,  as  it  was  too  late  in  the  day  to  bring  it  to 
me,  put  it  in  a  box,  in  which  he  also  put  some 
soil.  Next  morning,  at  six  o'clock,  the  mole 
was  not  only  lying  dead  on  the  top  of  the 
earth,  but  was  stiff  and  cold  as  well !  The 
second  case  was  that  of  a  mole  that  I  had 
caught,  and  which  I  fed  with  forty  worms  late 
in  the  afternoon,  yet  early  the  next  morning  it 
was  dead.  On  examination  its  stomach  proved 
quite  empty,  though  there  was  nothing  else 
the  matter  with  it.  The  little  glutton  had 

K  145 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

gorged    itself    overnight,    and    then    starved 
before  morning. 

When  I  got  another  mole  I  took  care  it 
should  never  be  short  of  food.  It  had  a  daily 
allowance  of  sixty  worms— and  what  a  business 
it  was  to  get  them  for  it  day  after  day— but 
sometimes  many  more.  The  average  weight 
of  worms  eaten  in  the  twenty-four  hours  was 
four  ounces,  or  one  ounce  more  than  the 
animal's  own  weight,  which  was  only  three 
ounces.  Had  it  been  kept  for  twelve  months 
it  would  have  wanted  ninety-one  pounds,  which 
would  mean  twenty-one  thousand  nine  hundred 
worms.  As  there  are  often  scores,  if  not 
hundreds,  of  moles  in  an  ordinary  meadow, 
think  what  a  huge  quantity  of  earth-worms 
must  be  destroyed  in  England  in  one  year  by 
moles.  Besides  being  one  of  the  fiercest  and 
strongest  of  animals  for  its  size  in  existence, 
the  mole  must  also  be  called  the  greediest ! 
When  speaking  of  its  appetite  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  the  individual  of  which  I  write 
was  kept  in  a  tub,  so  would  not  get  as  much 
exercise  as  a  free  one,  which  would  have  to 
travel  a  long  way  for  its  food,  and  from  the 
exercise  would  be  sure  to  have  an  even  better 
appetite  !  I  was  very  careful  to  dole  out  the 
146 


'LITTLE  GENTLEMAN  IN  BLACK  VELVET  COAT' 

worms  to  this  mole,  so  that  it  should  not  eat 
them  all  at  once  and  then  go  short.  By  doing 
this  it  was  not  only  kept  alive,  but  very  well 
and  lively.  It  was  quite  an  accident  I  got  it 
— a  trap  had  been  set  in  a  fence,  and  I  was  going 
by  as  it  went  off.  I  soon  let  the  mole  go,  but 
could  not  hold  her  (it  was  a  small  one  and 
therefore  I  believed  it  to  be  a  female),  so  put 
her  into  the  only  thing  at  hand,  namely,  my 
glove,  where  she  scratched  and  struggled, 
squeaking  loudly  all  the  way  home.  It  was 
a  funny  sound,  something  like  the  squeak  of 
a  shrew,  but  not  so  shrilL  The  tub  being 
handy  I  put  her  in  it,  covering  the  bottom  with 
about  eighteen  inches  of  soil.  First  she  dashed 
frantically  round  and  round,  trying  repeatedly 
to  climb  out ;  then  she  buried  herself,  when  the 
heaving  told  how  she  was  exploring  the  bottom 
of  the  tub.  When  she  went  down  into  the 
earth  she  flung  the  soil  out  behind  her  with 
her  hind  feet,  while  her  fore  paws  pressed  it 
back  on  either  side.  It  is  rather  difficult  to 
understand  how  the  earth  we  see  heaved  up  into 
hillocks  in  the  fields  can  be  thrown  out.  From 
what  I  have  seen  of  moles  at  work,  I  think 
they  push  forward  through  the  earth,  throwing 
back  loose  soil  behind  them,  then  turn  round, 

147 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

and  with  their  great  strength  heave  and  push 
this  accumulation  up  to  the  surface,  but  of 
course  it  is  difficult  to  be  sure  what  is  done 
underground. 

Some  grass  and  leaves  had  been  put  in  the 
tub,  and  by  next  day  the  mole  had  drawn 
them  together  to  make  a  comfortable  bed, 
wherein  I  could  see  her  lying,  curled  up  into 
a  ball  of  warm  dark-grey  velvet,  which  was 
beautifully  soft  to  the  touch.  When  she  felt 
my  finger  she  squeaked,  rolled  over  on  her 
back,  kicked,  then  righted  herself,  and  ran 
off  down  one  of  the  tunnels  she  had  made. 
After  a  few  days  she  got  accustomed  to  being 
poked  and  no  longer  squeaked  at  the  touch  of 
the  finger,  but  merely  came  out  and  looked  for 
worms.  How  fiercely  she  grabbed  each  one,  bit- 
ing it  quickly  from  end  to  end  so  as  to  kill  it  and 
stop  it  wriggling,  after  which  she  began  to  eat  it 
from  one  end,  holding  it  down  with  her  paws,  and 
chewing  on  until  the  last  bit  was  gone.  Some- 
times she  would  drag  her  worms  into  the  nest  to 
be  eaten,  and  others  were  taken  underground. 

A  big  mole,   a  male,  that  I  watched  and 

studied  later,  would,  if  he  had  more  worms  than 

he  could  eat,  bite  them  until  they  were  nearly 

killed,  then  bury  them,  just  like  a  dog  hiding 

148 


«  LITTLE  GENTLEMAN  IN  BLACK  VELVET  COAT  ' 

a  bone.  This  second  mole  was  not  kept  in  the 
tub,  but  in  a  glass-sided  cage  that  had  been  an 
aquarium.  He  was  only  given  a  few  inches  of 
soil,  so  that  it  was  easier  to  watch  him  and  learn 
about  his  ways  and  habits.  He  was  much 
bolder  than  the  first,  indeed  not  at  all  nervous, 
soon  making  himself  at  home,  and  learning  to 
take  worms  from  my  fingers.  He  was  fiercely 
eager  for  food,  and  when  engaged  in  eating  a 
worm  would  let  one  take  him  by  his  stumpy  tail 
and  raise  him  in  the  air  without  letting  go  of 
his  prey.  Indeed  once  he  had  hold  of  a  worm 
it  took  a  great  deal  to  make  him  let  go.  You 
could,  if  the  worm  was  a  big  strong  one,  take 
it  by  one  end  and  lift  the  mole,  hanging  on 
like  a  bull-dog,  high  over  the  cage.  His  fierce 
quick  movements  when  dealing  with  a  worm 
always  made  me  think  of  a  terrier  killing  a  rat. 
This  mole  preferred  to  take  his  prey  under- 
ground, possibly  to  prevent  the  slimy  thing 
squirming  about  and  messing  his  beautifully 
kept  fur.  I  often  noticed  him  when  eating 
scratching  first  one  side  of  his  body  and  then 
the  other  with  his  hind  feet ;  but,  at  any  rate, 
his  custom  was  to  kill  his  worms  first,  then 
leave  them,  dig  a  hole,  come  back,  and  drag 
them  down. 

149 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

It  being  more  than  difficult  to  keep  the  mole 
supplied  with  all  the  worms  it  needed,  I  tried 
it  with  other  foods.  Tiny  bits  of  meat  were 
tasted,  but  it  was  evident  he  did  not  like  such 
fare.  A  chicken's  head  with  the  feathers  on 
had  more  effect,  for  it  roused  him  to  fury. 
I  held  it  over  his  nest  in  which  he  was  asleep. 
He  woke  up  at  once,  his  pink  nose  appeared 
above  the  leaves  sniffing  its  scent,  and  then  he 
slipped  out  of  the  nest,  heaving  up  the  soil, 
and  reappearing  near  the  edge  of  the  cage, 
where  he  sniffed  again.  The  feathery  thing 
was  just  above  him.  His  momentary  fright 
changed  to  fury,  he  sprang  into  the  air,  grabbed 
and  worried  the  head,  hanging  on  to  it  with 
a  determination  it  is  impossible  to  describe. 
His  savageness  must  have  been  seen  to  be 
realised,  and  in  the  end  he  had  to  be  pulled 
off  by  main  force  !  Another  time  my  brother 
held  a  dead  mole  near  the  tame  one,  touching 
him  lightly  on  the  tail  with  it ;  round  he  spun, 
grabbing  the  corpse  before  it  could  be  snatched 
away,  shaking  and  worrying  it  like  a  fury,  and 
evidently  very  wroth  with  what  he  probably 
regarded  as  an  insult  from  a  foe.  Again  it  was 
quite  a  trouble  to  pull  him  off,  and  when 
dropped  back  into  the  cage  he  simply  raced 

150 


« LITTLE  GENTLEMAN  IN  BLACK  VELVET  COAT ' 

round  it,  hunting  everywhere  for  the  escaping 
enemy.  He  seemed  as  if  *  possessed  by  a 
devil ! '  When  the  corpse  was  again  held  near 
him  he  sprang  straight  at  it,  getting  it  by  the 
tip  of  the  nose  and  holding  on  like  a  limpet. 
He  was  raised  clinging  to  the  dead  mole  high 
above  the  cage,  still  he  held  on,  using  his  fore 
paws  to  rasp  his  inanimate  foe.  Three  minutes; 
five  minutes,  seven  minutes  passed,  and  still 
he  kept  his  bull-dog  grip.  At  last  we  pulled 
him  off,  when  he  raced  round  the  cage  looking, 
or  rather  smelling,  anxiously  for  the  corpse, 
and  mad  to  continue  the  attack.  Had  it  been 
another  live  mole  they  would  have  fought  to 
the  death  ! 

Many  a  furious  battle  must  be  waged  in 
those  tortuous  tunnels  that  are  the  home  of 
the  mole.  Imagine  the  meeting  in  the  gloom, 
friend  and  foe  recognised  by  smell  alone;  the 
fierce  joy  and  madness  of  the  battle  waged  up 
and  down  the  passages;  and  the  victor,  torn 
and  bleeding,  going  home  at  last  to  his  warm 
nest  of  leaves  and  grass,  leaving  his  enemy 
still  and  cold  in  some  dark  corner.  But  not 
only  must  many  fierce  battles  be  fought 
between  rival  males,  but  other  combats  must 
be  fought  too.  Would  even  the  bloodthirsty 

151 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

little  weasel  overcome  a  mole  ?     I  have  my 
doubts  1     At  any  rate  the  mole  is  not  very  good 
to  eat,  and  I  think  the  weasel  would  probably 
consider  it  more  discreet  to  avoid  such  un- 
savoury prey.     Polecats,   ferrets,   stoats,   and 
owls  all  refuse  to  touch  a  mole.     Perhaps  it  is 
the  peculiar  smell  they  do  not  like ;  at  any  rate, 
the  fact  that  foxes  will  kill  moles,  roll  on  the 
bodies,  and  then  leave  them  uneaten,  seems 
to  point  to  this.     I  was  once  following  the  trail 
a  fox  had  left  in  the  snow  during  his  previous 
night's  wanderings,  and,  after  following  the  long 
straight  line  of  tracks  which  told  how  he  had 
been  trotting  steadily  onwards,  I  came  to  more 
irregular  foot-marks.     Plainly  written  in  the 
snow — plainly,  that  is,  for  those  who  understand 
what  is  written  in  pad-mark  and  trail— -was  the 
story  of  how  seeing  something  moving  he  had 
paused,  then  stepped  forward  stealthily  towards 
the  spot  where  a  mole  had  been  heaving  near 
the  surface.     The  raw  red  earth  made  a  vivid 
stain  on  the  clean  snow.    It  was  the  last  soil  that 
that  mole  ever  threw  up,  for  as  it  came  close 
to  the  top  of  the  ground  the  fox  had  sprung, 
killed  it  by  a  skilful  nip,  dropped  the  poor  little 
carcass,   sniffed  it  disdainfully,   rolled  on  it, 
and  gone  on  about  his  night's  hunting.     There 
152 


«  LITTLE  GENTLEMAN  IN  BLACK  VELVET  COAT ' 

was  the  mole,  a  poor  little  black  smudge  in 
the  middle  of  a  ring  of  soiled  and  flattened 
snow.  The  '  little  gentleman  in  the  black 
velvet  coat '  had  paid  dearly  for  venturing  so 
near  the  surface. 

The  only  creature  which  regularly  kills 
moles  is  the  buzzard,  which  takes  many  home 
to  feed  its  young,  evidently  getting  them  by 
dropping  upon  them  when  heaving  near  the 
surface.  But  as  the  buzzard  is  a  bird  of  the 
hills  and  wild  moorlands,  the  moles  of  the 
cultivated  lands  have  few  or  no  enemies  to 
fear,  and  can  drive  their  tunnels  far  and  near 
with  no  danger  from  anything  save  the  mole- 
catcher  and  his  traps.  The  wonderful  velvet  fur, 
which  is  a  special  adaptation  to  underground 
life,  having,  unlike  the  coats  of  most  creatures, 
no  *  set '  in  any  one  direction,  costs  thousands  of 
moles  their  lives,  for  it  is  one  of  the  few  really 
valuable  furs  that  we  get  in  England.  The 
short  erect  hairs  enable  the  mole  to  turn  and 
twist,  go  backwards  or  forwards  in  the  narrow 
damp  passages,  and  yet  never  get  really  dirty, 
a  shake,  a  few  scrapes  with  its  paws,  being  at 
any  time  enough  to  make  it  again  spick  and 
span.  I  sometimes  saw  my  tame  mole  use 
his  hind  feet  to  scrape  the  clay  from  between 

153 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

the  big  claws  of  his  fore  feet,  and,  as  I  have 
already  said,  he  hated  worms  to  squirm  over 
him  and  slime  his  fur. 

The  mole  in  question  was  not  only  particular 
about  his  coat  but  also  about  his  bed ;  indeed  a 
good  warm  nest  is  necessary,  or  a  mole  will  not 
live  long.  He  had  a  quantity  of  leaves  and 
grass  scattered  about  the  cage,  and  his  method 
of  making  up  his  bed  was  to  gather  a  few  dry 
leaves  together,  then  sit  on  them  and  pull  all 
within  reach  around  him.  Gradually  a  pile 
was  built  up,  from  which  his  pink  nose  would 
keep  peeping  out  first  here  and  then  there, 
each  time  pulling  in  another  leaf  and  adding 
it  to  the  pile.  He  never  used  his  paws  to  shape 
the  nest,  but  pushed  and  prodded  with  his 
nose,  turning  and  twisting  until  it  was  neat, 
round,  and  well  shaped.  When  leaves,  which 
he  much  preferred  to  grass,  could  not  be  reached 
by  stretching  out  of  the  nest,  he  would  leave  it 
and  run  across  the  cage,  his  scrap  of  a  tail 
sticking  up  impudently,  and  snatch  a  leaf, 
carrying  it  home  with  his  head  high  in  the  air. 
In  the  warm  and  comfortable  bed  thus  made  he 
would  sleep  for  about  an  hour  at  a  time, 
curled  up  into  a  velvet  ball,  and  sometimes 
snoring  with  queer  squeaky  grunts  ! 

154 


•  LITTLE  GENTLEMAN  IN  BLACK  VELVET  COAT ' 

Moles  in  a  wild  state  make  wonderful  sleeping 
places,  throwing  up  large  heaps  of  soil,  some- 
times as  much  as  a  barrowful,  to  protect  the 
nest,  which  is  in  a  central  chamber.  These 
large  hillocks,  often  called  '  fortresses,'  or 
4  palaces,'  are  merely  living  places,  being  chiefly 
used  in  the  winter,  and  are  never  nurseries. 
Sometimes  they  are  under  bushes,  or  in  a  wood, 
but  quite  as  often  you  may  see  them  out  in  the 
open.  No  two  have  the  tunnels  inside  arranged 
quite  the  same,  though  in  old  books  on  birds 
and  beasts  it  was  always  said  that  the  mole 
made  its  home  according  to  one  fixed  plan. 
However,  this  was  a  mistake.  I  have  opened 
many  fortresses,  and  each  one  has  been  quite 
different  from  the  last.  There  are  but  two 
points  in  which  all  agree,  the  first  being  the 
central  living  chamber,  which  is  about  the  size 
of  a  football  and  situated  on  the  ground  level ; 
and  the  second  the  bolt  hole  which  leads  from 
the  sleeping  place  down  into  the  ground.  This 
tunnel  goes  straight  into  the  ground  for  eight 
or  nine  inches,  then  curves  up  again  and  joins 
the  main  run.  It  serves  two  purposes,  the 
one  to  enable  the  owner  to  slip  out  of  the 
bottom  of  his  nest  when  danger  threatens,  the 
other  to  drain  off  any  water  that  may  soak 

155 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

through  the  thick  layer  of  protecting  soil  in 
very  wet  weather.  It  is  wonderful  how  dry 
the  fortresses  keep  as  a  rule,  the  bed  in  the 
centre  being  as  warm  and  comfortable  as  any 
creature  could  desire.  The  lining  is  made  of 
such  leaves  and  grass  as  can  be  found  near 
at  hand,  the  owner  continually  adding  to  the 
accumulation,  going  up  to  the  surface  when  all 
is  quiet,  choosing  by  smell  and  touch  the  ma- 
terial best  suited  for  his  needs,  and  carrying 
it  home  through  the  many  passages.  Besides 
the  bolt  hole,  which  is  a  sort  of  *  back  door,' 
there  are  many  other  ways  in  and  out  of 
the  nest,  and  the  heap  of  soil  is  riddled 
with  galleries.  Many  passages  radiate  from 
the  fortress  into  the  surrounding  land,  their 
course  being  marked  at  intervals  with  the 
earth  thrown  up  as  the  mole  made  them. 

There  are  both  highways  and  byways,  the 
former  being  the  roads  along  which  the  moles 
travel  from  place  to  place,  and  which  are  used 
by  many  individuals.  These  are  the  ones  that 
the  mole-catcher  likes  to  set  his  traps  in,  for 
he  can  be  sure  of  catching  more  than  one  mole 
in  such  a  highroad.  The  only  thing  is  that 
if  he  catches  a  mole,  and  another  mole  comes 
along  before  he  has  taken  it  out  of  the  trap, 

156 


«  LITTLE  GENTLEMAN  IN  BLACK  VELVET  COAT ' 

number  two  will  be  certain  to  attack  the  body, 
biting  and  scratching  it  until  the  fur  is  quite 
spoilt !  The  reason  of  such  spiteful  behaviour 
has  often  puzzled  me,  but,  as  has  been  pointed 
out  before,  a  mole  is  one  of  the  fiercest  creatures 
for  its  size  in  existence,  so  no  doubt  when  one 
of  these  little  animals  finds  its  friend  has  got  into 
trouble  it  merely  rejoices  at  a  chance  of  paying  off 
old  scores.  Despite  their  quarrelsomeness  many 
moles  will  live  in  the  same  system  of  tunnels. 
I  have  known  no  less  than  eighteen  trapped  in  a 
single  highroad,  so  they  must  have  some  way 
of  settling  their  differences.  Probably  members 
of  the  same  clan  or  family  live  happily  together, 
but  fight  and  drive  away  strangers  who  come 
into  their  country.  This  is  so  with  some  kinds 
of  mice,  also  birds,  which  are  very  much  an- 
noyed when  mice  or  birds,  as  the  case  may 
be,  that  they  do  not  know,  come  poaching  on 
their  territory.  Well,  we  are  much  the  same 
ourselves ;  we  do  not  mind  our  friends  walking 
about  our  gardens,  but  we  are  exceedingly 
annoyed  if  a  stranger  comes  in  unasked  ! 

The  '  byways '  are  the  actual  hunting  grounds, 
the  tunnels  being  pushed  here  and  there  close 
to  the  surface  as  the  mole  hunts  for  worms. 
The  main  roads  are  often  sunk  fairly  deep, 

157 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

but  the  others,  especially  in  damp  weather, 
are  so  near  the  top  of  the  ground  that  you 
can  open  them  up  by  running  your  finger 
along  under  the  grass.  Once  made  they  may 
never  be  revisited,  for  they  do  not  lead  any- 
where, and  were  made  only  to  find  earth-worms. 
When  one  reflects  on  the  work  done  in  this  way 
by  a  mole  in  the  course  of  twenty-four  hours,  we 
get  some  idea  of  its  great  strength  and  activity, 
and  no  longer  wonder  at  the  amount  of  food 
it  needs  and  eats.  It  can  lift  many  times  its 
own  weight  of  soil,  and  I  have  seen  one  push 
out  of  place  on  a  smooth  surface  a  nine-pound 
brick.  As  the  animal's  weight  was  three  ounces, 
this  is  as  if  a  man  whose  weight  was  twelve  stone 
moved  an  object  3  tons  12  cwt. !  What  weak 
little  creatures  we  are  compared  with  a  mole  ! 
No  wonder  it  can  heave  up  soil  so  easily,  and 
that  it  is  quite  difficult  to  hold  one  in  your 
hand.  A  mole's  time  is  spent  in  rushing  about 
its  tunnels  (for  it  can  travel  amazingly  fast 
underground,  and,  however  awkward  it  may 
appear  on  the  surface,  is  neither  clumsy  or 
slow  below  ground)  in  search  of  food,  and  in 
short  spells  of  sleep  in  its  warm  fortress. 
Judging  from  the  captive  moles  I  have  watched, 
it  does  not  rest,  as  a  rule,  for  more  than  two 
158 


'  LITTLE  GENTLEMAN  IN  BLACK  VELVET  COAT' 

hours  at  a  time,  but  is  soon  awake  and  off 
again  to  scent  out  the  unfortunate  worms. 
Its  activity  is  entirely  governed  by  them. 
In  wet  weather  when  the  worms  are  at  the 
top  of  the  ground  the  moles'  runs  are  very 
shallow ;  when  the  worms  go  deep,  it  has  also 
to  drive  its  tunnels  deep,  and  during  the  hot 
dry  summer-time,  when  they  are  hard  to  find, 
it  has  to  leave  the  open  meadows  with  their 
baked  soil,  and  seek  its  prey  in  the  woods  and 
hedgerows.  Under  the  damp  layers  of  fallen 
leaves  worms  abound,  no  matter  how  the 
ground  may  be  baked  elsewhere,  and  here  the 
mole  can  tunnel  happily  in  search  of  them, 
while  its  winter  hunting  grounds  get  harder 
and  harder.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  moles 
cannot  live  without  water,  and  that  is  why  they 
are  only  found  in  damp  land ;  but  the  truth  is 
that  their  food  is  only  found  in  fairly  damp 
soil,  not  that  they  want  water  so  badly.  As 
a  matter  of  fact  I  have  never  seen  a  mole 
drink.  All  those  I  have  had  for  purposes  of 
study  have  had  water  provided  for  them. 
More  than  once  I  have  seen  one  of  them  dip 
its  nose  accidentally  into  the  saucer  and  draw 
back  sneezing  disgustedly,  but  I  have  never 
seen  one  drink  properly.  Other  people  have 

159 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

done  so,  but  I  cannot  think  the  mole  is  really 
a  thirsty  creature. 

To  go  back  to  the  '  palace,'  it  is  a  curious  fact 
that  this  elaborate  living  place  is  made  and 
occupied  by  the  male  alone!  The  female  is 
not  nearly  so  particular  about  her  quarters. 
A  bed  under  a  small  hillock  will  do  for  her, 
but  her  mate  must  have  his  great  mound,  his 
comfortable  chamber,  and  his  tunnels  driven 
around  the  heap.  Here  he  lives  in  state  all 
winter,  but  with  the  warmer  weather  even  he 
becomes  less  particular,  sleeping  anywhere  he 
can  make  a  nice  nest,  and  the  great  fortress 
is  deserted  for  the  time  being,  though  often 
returned  to  the  following  autumn.  Some  of 
these  mounds  are  occupied  year  after  year,  new 
bedding  being  put  on  the  top  of  the  old,  or  even 
a  new  sleeping  chamber  dug  out  above  the  first. 
I  have  opened  a  mound  and  found  the  two  nests, 
the  old  and  the  new,  thus  placed  one  above  the 
other,  and  a  case  has  been  known  of  a  mole 
palace  that  had  no  less  than  seven  nests  in  it ! 1 

Not  only  are  the  living  places  of  the  males  and 
females  different,  but  so  are  their  highroads. 
The  main  way  of  the  old  gentleman  mole  will 

1  See  photographs  by  Mr,  Douglas  English  in  Wild  Life,  vol.  i. 
p.  346. 

160 


•  LITTLE  GENTLEMAN  IN  BLACK  VELVET  COAT ' 

often  go  straight  across  a  field,  practically 
without  twist  or  turn,  though  with  a  few 
side  runs  for  hunting  purposes.  The  female 
does  not  care  about  such  bold  and  go-ahead 
methods;  she  has  a  different  temperament, 
she  is  more  timid  and  retiring,  she  prefers  to 
turn  and  twist,  to  work  backwards  and  forwards 
until  her  runs  are  a  confused  tangle  in  which 
it  is  as  impossible  to  make  out  any  method  or 
purpose  as  it  is  in  a  ravelled  skein  of  wool. 
Of  course,  where  moles  are  very  numerous  the 
ways  will  run  one  into  another;  no  system  is 
distinct  from  the  next,  and  the  whole  field 
will  be  covered  with  a  confusion  of  mole 
heavings,  so  that  it  is  likely  that  even  the  moles 
themselves  hardly  know  when  they  are  in  their 
own  runs  or  poaching  in  those  of  a  neighbour. 

The  old  males  are  most  active  and  travel 
more  widely  during  April.  Their  quarrelsome- 
ness is  also  at  its  height,  and  what  happens 
if  two  meet  face  to  face  can  be  best  left  to  the 
imagination  !  About  the  middle  of  May  their 
mates  begin  to  think  seriously  of  nursery 
requirements,  a  matter  which  does  not  interest 
the  males  in  the  least.  The  female  mole  is  a 
cautious  little  creature ;  she  retires  to  some  un- 
frequented corner  of  her  own  run,  and  there 

L  161 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

chooses  a  nursery.  She  has  no  intention  of 
throwing  up  a  great  mound  to  cover  her  babies, 
for  a  warm  well-lined  nest  under  an  inconspi- 
cuous little  heap  will  do  just  as  well  now  the 
weather  is  finer,  so  setting  to  work  she  soon 
has  all  in  readiness.  Soft  grass  and  shredded 
leaves  line  the  nursery,  and  here  her  young  are 
born.  They  are  naked  pink  babies,  and  may 
number  from  two  up  to  seven  or  eight,  but  four 
or  five  is  the  usual  number.  They  grow  very 
fast,  a  grey  tinge  about  the  body  foretelling 
their  velvety  coat.  In  a  few  weeks'  time  this 
is  fully  grown,  when,  being  now  quite  active, 
they  are  able  to  wander  out  into  their  dark 
world  after  their  mother. 

Even  the  colouring  of  the  mole  is  probably 
connected  with  the  underground  life  it  leads, 
for  nearly  all  the  smaller  animals  that  live  above 
ground  are  some  shade  of  brown,  that  hue 
being  the  least  noticeable  when  a  creature  is 
running  about  in  the  shadowy  spaces  between 
the  low  growing  plants  and  grasses.  Now 
black  is  too  noticeable  for  an  animal  that  has 
to  face  the  light  of  day,  but  of  course  makes 
no  difference  to  one  hidden  underground. 
Strictly  speaking  a  live  mole  is  not  black;  it 
is  a  beautiful  sheeny  dark  grey,  rippling  and 
162 


<  LITTLE  GENTLEMAN  IN  BLACK  VELVET  COAT ' 

changing  in  tint  as  the  creature  moves. 
Sometimes  cream  moles  are  caught  by  mole- 
catchers,  this  variety  being  a  lovely  orange 
beneath,  and  where  one  has  been  taken  others 
are  likely  to  be  met  with.  It  is  a  curious  fact 
that  though  most  white  animals  have  pink 
eyes,  that  is  to  say  are  albinos,  this  is  hardly 
ever  the  case  with  the  mole.  Certainly  it  has 
not  been  so  with  all  the  cream-coloured  moles 
I  have  met  with.  I  have  examined  their  tiny 
eyes  under  a  microscope,  when  it  was  plain  that 
they  were  dark.  Pink  eyes  are  caused  by  ab- 
sence of  all  colouring  matter  from  the  eyes, 
the  red  tinge  coming  from  the  blood.  Other 
freakishly  coloured  moles  that  I  have  seen  are 
buff,  '  smoked,'  i.e.  white  with  black  tips  to  the 
hairs,  and  very  pale  grey.  Piebalds  are  ex- 
ceedingly rare,  but  there  is  a  very  quaint 
one  in  the  great  Natural  History  Museum  at 
South  Kensington,  which  is  spotted,  like  a 
roly-poly  suet  pudding  with  currants  in  it !  Of 
course  all  these  varieties  are  mere  freaks,  and 
it  is  not  one  mole  in  many  thousands  that 
differs  from  its  fellows.  Indeed  one  mole  is 
not  only  exactly  like  its  fellow,  but  there  is  no 
difference  whatever  between  the  moles  of 
England  and  those  of  the  rest  of  Europe. 

163 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

Though  moles  may  not  differ  much  in  shape 
and  make  from  one  another,  I  found  that  they 
did  differ  in  character  and  ways  to  a  remark- 
able extent.  Of  the  half-dozen  moles  which  I 
have  kept  in  cages  so  as  to  learn  all  I  could  of 
their  habits,  no  two  behaved  just  the  same. 
The  males  were  much  bolder  and  easier  to 
tame  than  the  females,  the  latter  being  of 
a  shy  retiring  disposition.  The  former  would 
soon  learn  that  a  tap  on  the  glass  side  meant 
food  at  hand,  but  the  ladies  would  take  several 
days  before  they  would  come  to  meet  the  hand 
that  dropped  in  their  worms.  Once  a  gentle- 
man mole  had  got  accustomed  to  the  noises 
made  by  people  walking  about  the  room  it  took 
a  great  deal  to  frighten  him;  but  one  of  my 
females  remained  terrified  to  the  end,  always 
burying  herself  when  anything  moved.  When 
watching  a  mole  you  would  never  think  that  it 
was  blind,  for  its  keen  nose  tells  it  exactly  what 
is  before  it.  For  instance,  I  put  a  mole  on  a 
table  from  which  there  was  a  drop  of  three 
feet  to  the  ground,  but  the  mole  did  not  tumble 
off.  It  raced  to  the  edge,  thrust  its  nose  over, 
and  drew  back  instantly  as  if  it  saw  what  a  fall 
it  might  have.  Then  it  ran  across  to  the  other 
side,  where  it  did  the  same  thing.  It  was 

164 


'LITTLE  GENTLEMAN  IN  BLACK  VELVET  COAT' 

quite  difficult  to  realise  that  the  animal  was 
being  influenced  solely  by  the  sense  of  smell ! 

As  people  sometimes  speak  in  pitying  tones 
of  the  '  poor  blind  mole,'  I  must  point  out  here 
that  the  mole  almost  certainly  leads  a  very 
enjoyable  life,  for  it  knows  nothing  of  what 
light  and  sight  mean.  It  has  never  lived 
above  ground,  it  has  no  remembrance  of  things 
seen,  it  lives  in  a  world  of  smells  and  scents  of 
which  we  in  our  turn,  with  our  blunted  useless 
noses,  can  have  no  idea.  In  its  dark  tunnels 
it  fights,  hunts,  feasts,  mates,  and  enjoys  life 
with  quite  as  much  gusto  as  the  creatures  of 
the  light  and  air;  it  must  enjoy  its  life,  for  the 
reason  it  is  of  all  creatures  one  of  the  most 
perfectly  adapted  to  its  surroundings,  so  what- 
ever you  do  don't  despise  the  '  poor  little  mole ' ; 
it  does  not  want  pity,  and  did  it  know  any- 
thing of  us  would  probably  be  sorry  for  people 
having  to  live  up  in  the  dazzling  sunshine  ! 

(Note. — The  Moles  constitute  the  sub-family 
Talpinoe,  which  ranges  throughout  the  temperate 
parts  of  Europe  and  Asia,  from  England  on  the  one 
side  to  Japan  on  the  other.  Four  species  are  now 
recognised  in  Europe,  but  only  one,  T.  europcea, 
the  Common  Mole,  is  widely  distributed.  It  is 
plentiful  on  the  Continent  and  throughout  Great 
Britain,  but  is  not  found  in  Ireland.) 

165 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THIEVES  OF  THE  NIGHT 

WHEREVER  we  go  we  meet  with  rats— town 
and  country,  stackyard,  warehouse,  and  garden, 
it  is  all  the  same,  they  steal  and  rob  anything 
and  everything  that  is  good  to  eat.  Potatoes, 
grain,  peas,  beans,  to  say  nothing  of  eggs,  and 
even  young  chickens  and  ducklings,  are  seized, 
and  in  the  latter  cases  murdered  and  eaten. 
Indeed,  there  is  hardly  anything  that  rats  will 
not  eat,  and  the  damage  done  by  them  in 
the  course  of  a  year  is  simply  appalling. 
Supposing  that  there  is  in  this  country  one 
rat  for  every  person,  and  there  are  certain  to  be 
many  more — well,  that  would  give  us  roughly 
forty  million  rats !  Just  think  of  all  the  good 
food  they  must  waste  in  the  course  of  a  year  ! 
Supposing  each  rat  only  eats  a  pennyworth, 
that  would  be  forty  million  pennyworths  each 
day,  and  as  to  what  it  would  come  to  in  twelve 
months,  I  think  I  will  leave  to  any  person  who 
is  fond  of  doing  a  sum  to  find  out. 
166 


THIEVES  OF  THE  NIGHT 

No  wonder  when  rats  do  all  this  harm  that 
nearly  everybody  hates  and  fears  them,  yet  I 
have  known  rats  which  personally  were  very 
nice  creatures.  One  of  the  most  charming  pets 
I  have  ever  had — I  have  had  a  good  many — was 
just  an  ordinary  rat.  An  ordinary  big  grey  rat 
from  some  farm  buildings,  and  he  was  a  big 
one  too  !  His  history  was  very  strange.  In 
April  1910  I  had  a  pair  of  pet  brown  owls, 
for  which  I  used  to  get  all  the  rats  and  mice 
I  could,  as  they  were  very  fond  of  such  food. 
One  day  a  workman  was  getting  some  potatoes 
from  the  bury  in  the  kitchen-garden,  when  he 
found  hidden  in  the  heap  a  rat's  nest  contain- 
ing nine  very  small  baby  rats.  Knowing  that 
they  were  exactly  what  the  owls  would  like  he 
put  the  little  things  into  a  flower-pot,  and  the 
pot  beside  the  harness-room  grate,  in  which 
a  fire  was  burning,  to  keep  them  alive  and 
warm  until  they  could  be  handed  over  to  me 
to  meet  their  fate.  It  was  very  warm  by  the 
fire,  and  I  wonder  they  were  not  cooked  alive, 
and  Whiskers'  history  ended  there  and  then; 
however,  they  were  happy  and  kicking  when  I 
found  them.  What  funny  little  mites  they 
were ;  they  might  be  '  only  rats,'  but  still  they 
were  such  wee  helpless  babies  that  it  seemed 

167 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

a  shame  to  murder  them,  still,  knowing  what 
rats  are,  I  hardened  my  heart  and  carried 
them  off  to  the  place  where  my  owls  lived. 
As  I  tumbled  them  out  of  the  flower-pot  on  to 
the  floor  of  the  building  a  mad  idea  came  to  me. 
Our  cat  had  just  had  kittens :  would  she  rear 
a  rat  with  them  ?  I  must  add  that  she  had 
already  brought  up  some  rabbits,  and  another 
cat  had  mothered  a  fox-cub.  No  sooner  had 
the  idea  occurred  to  me  than  I  picked  up  the 
topmost  of  the  nine,  slipped  it  into  my  pocket, 
and  hurried  to  the  house,  leaving  the  rest  to  their 
fate.  The  little  rat  I  had  saved  was  not  only 
small,  but  blind,  feeble,  and  had  as  yet  but 
little  hair  on  it,  so  anything  more  unlike  a 
kitten  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  have 
offered  the  cat. 

I  found  puss  with  her  kitten  (the  rest  of 
her  family  having  disappeared  owing  to  orders 
from  the  head  of  the  family  given  the  day 
before)  in  her  box  in  a  cupboard  in  the  kit- 
chen. The  remaining  kitten  was  a  roly-poly 
fat  creature,  with  eyes  just  opening,  and  was 
about  ten  days  old,  and  nothing  could  have 
been  more  unlike  than  the  two  little  things. 
I  could  hardly  hope  that  the  cat  would  be  so 
good,  or  shall  I  say  so  foolish,  as  to  nurse  such 

168 


THIEVES  OF  THE  NIGHT 

an  utterly  different  baby  as  the  rat.  However, 
I  scratched  her  head  and  talked  to  her  to  take 
her  attention,  and  slipped  the  baby  rat  down 
between  her  and  the  kitten  so  that  it  nestled 
up  into  her  fur.  Every  moment  I  thought  she 
would  find  out  that  something  strange  was 
beside  her  and  turn  round  and  eat  it.  The 
only  hope  was  that  she  might  not  discover  that 
it  was  there  until  it  had  got  a  nice  '  kitteny ' 
smell  from  lying  with  the  kitten  against  her. 
Of  course  fif  it  would  take  its  food  along  with 
the  kitten  it  would  be  safe,  for  no  creature 
will  hurt  any  young  thing  which  has  once 
sucked  it.  For  ten  minutes  or  more  I  sat 
beside  them,  then  crept  away  leaving  puss 
sound  asleep  with  the  new  baby  as  well  as  her 
kitten  nestled  close  beside  her. 

First  thing  the  following  morning  found  me 
downstairs,  fully  expecting  to  find  that  the  rat 
had  vanished;  but  no,  there  it  was,  safe  and 
sound  asleep  in  the  box  with  the  kitten,  the  old 
cat  having  gone  out  for  a  walk.  By  breakfast 
time  she  was  back,  and  when  I  looked  into  the 
cupboard  there  were  the  rat  and  the  kitten 
taking  their  food  side  by  side.  Hearing  me 
the  cat  raised  herself,  purred,  and  began  to 
wash  the  kitten,  next  she  licked  the  rat  all 

169 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

over,  after  which  she  lay  back  and  purred 
harder  than  ever,  purring  the  contented  song 
of  a  cat  at  peace  with  all  the  world.  So 
she  had  adopted  the  newcomer,  perhaps  the 
strangest  baby  ever  reared  by  a  cat,  for  of  all 
things  a  rat  is  the  natural  prey  of  her  kind,  and 
to  make  it  more  extraordinary  this  puss  was  a 
most  sporting  cat  and  particularly  good  with 
rats,  having  killed  many.  I  must  look  for- 
ward a  little  bit  here  and  say  that  though  she 
killed  many  mice,  and  I  regret  to  add  rabbits,  I 
never  saw  her  bring  home  another  rat.  Hence- 
forward ratting  was  done  with.  I  wonder  if  she 
thought  about  the  newcomer,  whether,  finding 
it  so  mysteriously  beside  her,  she  thought  it 
was  one  of  her  missing  kittens  strangely 
changed  that  had  come  back.  But  whatever 
her  opinions  on  the  matter,  the  fact  remained 
that  she  not  only  had  no  intention  of  hurting 
the  little  rat,  but  had  completely  adopted  it, 
and  not  only  allowed  it  to  suckle,  but  treated 
it  in  every  way  as  a  kitten.  For  some  days 
I  watched  the  queer  family  carefully,  being 
fearful  that  in  some  way  the  strange  baby  might 
remind  her  that  he  was  really  her  natural  prey, 
but  no  accident  happened ;  both  rat  and  kitten 
grew  and  flourished,  and  old  mother  cat  was 
170 


THIEVES  OF  THE  NIGHT 

as  proud  of  her  sleek-coated,  slim,  black-eyed 
youngster  as  she  was  of  that  fluffy  ball  the 
kitten.  As  soon  as  they  could  toddle  about 
the  two  began  to  play  together,  rolling  back- 
wards and  forwards  across  the  box,  and  then 
running  round  and  round  it.  Presently  they 
learnt  to  climb  out  of  the  box  and  run  about 
the  kitchen  floor.  One  day  I  saw  the  old  cat 
go  after  the  rat,  pick  him  up  in  her  mouth, 
and  carry  him  back.  He  squeaked,  but  it  was 
no  good— his  foster-mother,  gently  but  firmly, 
carried  him  home.  Fearing  some  accident, 
that  either  strange  dogs  or  cats  might  harm  the 
young  rat,  I  moved  the  family  to  an  empty 
room  upstairs,  which  they  could  have  to  them- 
selves and  where  they  were  safe  from  harm. 

Whiskers,  or  to  give  him  his  full  name, 
Samuel  Whiskers,  was  one  of  the  tamest 
creatures  I  have  ever  known,  being  the  only 
animal  that  I  have  met  with,  which  would 
when  frightened  come  to  one  for  protection. 
Most  of  the  pets  I  have  had  would  run 
away  when  startled,  but  Whiskers  at  the 
sight  of  anything  unusual  used  to  race  to  me 
and  hide  in  my  coat  or  up  my  sleeve.  As 
soon  as  he  could  cling  with  his  little  hand-like 
paws,  he  learnt  to  climb  up  my  fingers  and  sit 

171 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

with  perfect  confidence  on  my  hand.  Indeed, 
it  was  not  long  before  he  rushed  to  the  side  of 
the  box  whenever  he  heard  any  sound  and 
tried  to  jump  up  to  get  to  me.  When  taken 
upstairs  to  the  empty  room,  in  which  he  was 
allowed  to  run  about,  he  would  race  across 
the  floor  to  meet  me,  spring  on  to  my  skirt, 
and  haul  himself  up  hand  over  hand.  His 
favourite  seat  was  on  my  shoulder,  where  he 
would  ride  all  over  the  place  and  even  out  of 
doors,  disappearing  under  my  coat  at  the  sight 
of  a  stranger  or  anything  peculiar.  Presently 
I  would  feel  a  heaving  down  my  sleeve,  and 
then  Whiskers'  sharp  nose  and  twitching 
whiskers  would  come  sniffing  out  at  the  wrist. 
By  the  time  he  was  full  grown  he  was  more 
than  a  tight  fit  inside  a  sleeve— that  is  when 
the  owner's  arm  was  there  as  well— and  the 
sensation  as  he  wriggled  his  way  up  and  down 
was  decidedly  curious  !  Perhaps  his  favourite 
hiding-place  was  beneath  my  coat,  just  in  the 
middle  of  the  shoulders,  where  he  made  a 
lump  that  looked  as  if  I  was  becoming  de- 
cidedly hunch-backed. 

But  I  am  getting  on  rather  too  fast,  and  must 
go  back  to  the  point  where  the  cat  and  her 
two  babies  had  been  taken  from  the  kitchen  to 
172 


THIEVES  OF  THE  NIGHT 

the  empty  room  upstairs.  Here  Whiskers  had 
the  wildest  games  with  Tom  the  kitten.  They 
romped  and  raced  all  over  the  place,  playing  a 
sort  of  hide-and-seek  together,  and  it  was  the 
most  curious  sight  to  see  these  two,  that 
ought  to  have  been  bitter  enemies,  playing 
together  with  such  perfect  goodwill.  Yet  one 
day  something  did  go  wrong  between  them, 
for  I  found  spots  of  blood  on  the  floor.  Had 
the  kitten  bitten  Whiskers,  or  had  Samuel 
bitten  his  playmate  ?  I  looked  them  both 
over  carefully  but  could  not  find  the  slightest 
sign  or  trace  of  a  wound,  but  being  thoroughly 
frightened  I  then  and  there  took  the  kitten 
away.  Tom  found  a  most  excellent  home, 
where  he  proved  a  good  mouse-catcher,  but 
I  have  never  heard  that  he  attempted  to  kill 
a  rat. 

The  cat  had  now  only  Whiskers  to  look 
after,  so  she  gave  him  more  attention  than 
ever.  This  was  evidently,  from  the  rat's 
point  of  view,  rather  a  mixed  blessing,  for  she 
insisted  on  washing  him  so  often.  From  the 
moment  he  was  old  enough  to  sit  up  on  his 
hind  legs,  Whiskers  had  been  most  particular 
about  his  toilet,  often  sitting  up  and  washing  his 
face  and  body ;  but  his  adopted  mother  had  no 

173 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

opinion  of  his  efforts,  and  persisted  in  washing 
him  all  over  herself.  She  evidently  did  not 
think  he  was  to  be  trusted  to  do  it  properly. 
She  would  hold  him  down  with  her  paws, 
paying  no  attention  to  his  unhappy  squeaks, 
and  lick  him  all  over.  He  seemed  to  hate  her 
washings,  but,  like  the  boy  in  the  hands  of  the 
old  woman  in  the  Pears'  Soap  advertisement,  he 
had  to  have  it.  When  she  let  him  go  he  always 
went  over  the  work  again.  He  was  really  a 
very  clean  creature,  though  he  did  neglect 
one  part  of  his  body,  and  that  was  the  tail. 
Except  once  when  quite  small  I  never  saw 
him  lick  his  tail,  though  I  watched  him  wash 
himself  many  scores  of  times.  It  is  a  curious 
but  noticeable  point  that  the  tails  of  wild  rats 
are  often  very  dirty,  even  being  coated  with 
mud  and  filth,  so  I  think  it  cannot  be  their 
custom  to  clean  this  useful  member. 

Mentioning  his  tail  reminds  me  of  the  one 
and  only  time  that  Samuel  forgot  his  most 
excellent  manners.  He  had  been  sitting  at  an 
open  window,  when  my  brother  stepped  forward 
to  shut  it.  As  it  was  drawn  down  the  rat 
turned  round,  whisking  his  tail  under  the  falling 
frame.  The  heavy  window  slammed  down 
on  it,  nearly  cutting  it  off,  and  Whiskers 
174 


WHISKERS'  AND   'OLD   PUSS' 


THIEVES  OF  THE  NIGHT 

in  his  fright  and  pain  bit  the  thing  nearest 
to  him,  which  happened  to  be  my  brother's 
hand.  His  tail  soon  mended,  and  that  was 
his  one  and  only  lapse  from  perfect  gentle- 
ness and  good  behaviour.  Sometimes  he  was 
sorely  tested,  for  I  have  dragged  him  from 
behind  furniture,  or  out  of  his  nest,  by  a  leg, 
the  scruff  of  his  neck,  or  the  first  part  that 
came  handy,  but  he  never  resented  my  rough 
treatment  and  took  it  all  in  good  part.  I  am 
speaking  of  not  only  when  he  was  a  sleek  half- 
grown  youngster,  but  when  he  was  a  full- 
grown  exceedingly  big  buck  rat. 

Puss  by  no  means  considered  her  duties 
finished  when  she  had  washed  her  rat,  but  went 
poaching  and  mousing  on  his  behalf.  If  a  cat 
was  heard  crying  very  piteously  about  the 
house  we  knew  at  once  that  it  was  old  puss, 
who  had  come  in  with  something  for  the  rat, 
and  was  mewing  for  some  one  to  go  and  open 
the  door  so  that  she  could  take  her  kill  to  his 
room.  Proudly  she  would  bear  the  young 
rabbit  or  mouse  into  the  room,  drop  it,  and  lie 
down  purring  contentedly,  while  Whiskers 
sniffed  at  the  corpse.  But  further  than  this, 
excepting  on  one  occasion,  he  never  got,  as  I 
always  took  it  away.  Once  he  did  carry  the 

175 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

body  of  a  mouse  into  his  sleeping  box,  and  as 
rats  in  a  wild  state  are  by  no  means  averse  to 
flesh,  eating  carrion  greedily,  slaying  young 
ducks,  chickens,  and  even  frogs  and  toads,  I 
think  if  he  had  had  the  chance  he  would 
probably  have  eaten  it.  However,  I  did  not 
give  him  the  chance  to  try  mouse  meat,  but 
took  it  too  away. 

As  time  went  on  and  another  family  came  to 
take  the  cat's  attention,  she  did  not  bother 
so  much  about  Whiskers,  but  she  never  forgot 
him,  was  always  on  friendly  terms,  and  often 
paid  him  a  visit.  He  would  rush  to  meet  her 
most  excitedly,  and  it  was  indeed  a  strange 
sight  to  see  that  big  rat  sniffing  noses  with  the 
tabby-and-white  cat.  Once  when  Samuel  was 
loose  in  the  sitting-room  another  cat  was 
accidentally  let  into  the  room.  The  rat, 
thinking  it  was  his  foster-mother,  ran  to  meet 
her.  At  which  the  cat  with  a  startled  spit 
stepped  back.  On  came  Whiskers,  the  cat's 
fur  rose,  her  tail  fluffed  out,  for  a  moment  she 
hissed  and  spit,  then  her  nerve  failed  altogether, 
and  she  bolted  for  all  she  was  worth  !  Fancy 
a  rat  which  instead  of  running  away  from  you 
came  straight  at  you  !  It  was  too  much  for 
her,  and  she  was  not  seen  for  some  time  after. 
176 


THIEVES  OF  THE  NIGHT 

But  this  cat  was  not  the  only  individual 
upset  by  the  rat,  for  many  people  objected  to 
him.  I  have  seen  men,  who  would  have  faced 
and  stopped  a  runaway  horse  without  a  tremor, 
go  hot  and  cold  if  Whiskers  ran  across  the 
table  towards  them.  I  always  told  strangers 
that  he  was  not  only  perfectly  harmless  but  a 
very  gentle  amiable  creature,  but  such  is  the 
general  fear  of  and  dislike  to  rats  that  hardly 
anybody  could  be  persuaded  to  touch  him. 
*  How  could  I  handle  and  play  with  such  a  hor- 
rid animal  ? '  was  the  usual  question.  It  was 
in  vain  to  explain  that  to  me  he  was  neither 
repulsive  nor  horrible.  One  farmer  who  came 
into  the  house,  and  saw  for  the  first  time  the 
rat  peep  out  of  my  sleeve,  looked  as  if  he  would 
have  liked  to  have  jumped  on  to  a  chair  out 
of  Whiskers'  way :  6  For  heaven's  sake,  don't 
let  the  brute  come  near  me,  Miss,'  he  said, 
4  or  I  '11  brain  him ! '  And  I  am  sure  he 
meant  it ! 

Yet  it  only  shows  what  a  difference  a  little 
knowledge  makes,  for  all  the  family  who  knew 
him  well  were  exceedingly  fond  of  the  rat, 
despite  the  mischief  he  sometimes  got  into. 
For  instance,  my  father  made  a  great  pet  of 
him.  He  would  let  him  sit  inside  his  jacket 

M  177 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

in  an  evening.  One  night  when  the  rat  had 
been  quiet  for  some  time  my  father  remarked, 
'  I  don't  know  what  he  is  doing,  but  I  can  feel 
him  pulling  at  something.'  We  found  he  had 
been  amusing  himself  biting  the  straps  off  my 
father's  waistcoat !  He  was  never  quiet  unless 
in  mischief,  but  always  racing  about,  hauling 
himself  up  the  curtains  hand  over  hand,  to 
run  along  the  curtain  poles,  from  which  he 
would  slide  down  the  curtains  on  to  the 
ground  once  more.  Then  he  would  scamper 
to  and  fro,  climb  on  to  somebody's  knee,  very 
likely  jumping  from  there  to  the  table,  where 
there  was  generally  some  food  put  ready 
together  with  a  glass  of  water.  He  was  a 
thirsty  animal  and  drank  a  good  deal.  It  was 
a  funny  sight  to  see  him  with  fore  paws — so  like 
little  hands— on  the  edge  of  the  tumbler,  and 
his  tongue  lapping  so  fast  that  one  could  hardly 
see  it  going  up  and  down.  Next  he  would 
pick  up  a  walnut,  and,  holding  it  with  his  hands, 
nibble  away  at  it.  When  he  had  eaten  all  he 
wanted,  he  would  carry  off  any  food  that  was 
left  lying  about  to  a  hiding-place  behind  the 
bookcase.  Small  stuff,  such  as  grain,  he 
carried  in  his  cheeks,  stuffing  his  mouth  with 
it  until  he  looked  as  if  he  had  a  swollen  face, 
178 


THIEVES  OF  THE  NIGHT 

but  big  bits  had  to  be  carried  as  a  dog  carries 
a  bone.  He  would  hurry  backwards  and 
forwards  until  he  had  carried  all  the  food  off, 
after  which  he  would  amuse  himself  by  making 
a  nest  behind  the  bookcase.  As  the  house- 
maid brushed  his  nest  away  every  morning 
when  doing  the  room,  a  fresh  nest  was  begun 
each  evening,  but  he  never  seemed  to  get  tired 
of  the  entertainment.  He  would  take  away 
any  loose  things  that  he  could  find,  especially 
papers,  and  the  newspapers  when  dropped  on 
the  floor  would  often  begin  to  rustle  and  move 
in  a  mysterious  way.  What  happened  was  that 
Whiskers  got  underneath  the  sheets,  took  hold 
of  one  corner,  and  towed  the  whole  off  to 
his  favourite  hiding-place,  there,  unless  it  was 
at  once  pulled  out,  to  tear  it  to  bits. 

The  nest  in  Whiskers'  sleeping  box  was  a 
jumble  of  paper,  straw,  feathers,  and  odds  and 
ends  of  rags.  Sometimes  it  had  to  be  burnt, 
but  he  never  seemed  happy  with  a  nice  clean 
bed  of  hay  or  straw,  and  immediately  set  to 
work  to  collect  more  odds  and  ends. 

Samuel  Whiskers  was  very  fond  of  being 
petted,  and  would  lie  on  my  lap,  or  sit  on 
my  shoulder,  as  long  as  I  would  go  on 
stroking  and  petting  him,  but  the  minute  one 

179 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

stopped  he  was  off  again.  He  usually  came 
when  called  by  name,  but  was  shy  if  there 
were  strangers  in  the  room,  for  he  knew  all 
the  family  perfectly  well.  He  was  also  tiresome 
to  catch  whenever  he  thought  he  was  to  be 
returned  to  his  own  quarters,  for  he  would  do 
anything  rather  than  be  caught  and  shut  up, 
yet  once  you  got  a  grip  of  his  slippery  form  he 
would  give  in  and  not  try  to  get  away  any 
more.  But  how  different  it  was  when  I  went 
into  the  room  where  he  was  kept ;  then  his  one 
idea  was  to  reach  my  shoulder  as  quickly 
as  he  could  climb  there. 

Twice  before  the  final  disaster  we  thought 
we  had  lost  him,  each  time  he  got  up  a  chimney, 
but  came  down  again  when  called.  The  third 
time  he  not  only  got  out  of  his  room  but  out  of 
the  house,  and  nothing  was  heard  or  seen  of 
him  for  a  week.  At  the  end  of  the  week  I 
noticed  a  dog  pointing  excitedly,  after  the 
manner  of  terriers  when  they  have  found  a  rat, 
at  an  old  disused  chimney  in  an  outbuilding. 
Knowing  how  fond  Whiskers  had  been  of 
chimneys  I  drove  the  dog  away,  and,  going 
down  on  my  hands  and  knees  before  the  dirty 
old  grate,  I  called  the  rat  by  name,  then 
listened.  Surely  there  was  something  stirring  ? 
180 


THIEVES  OF  THE  NIGHT 

Again  calling,  and  listening  once  more,  I  felt 
sure  there  was  something  moving,  so  turning 
back  my  sleeve  I  put  my  arm  up  the  dirty, 
sooty,  old  chimney ;  instantly  small  feet  clasped 
my  arm,  and  a  moment  later  my  rat  was  in  my 
hands.  Oh  f  poor  Whiskers  !  He  was  black 
with  soot,  he  was  half-starved  and  very  thin, 
his  fur  which  had  been  smooth  was  harsh  and 
staring,  and  he  was  covered  with  bites  from 
head  to  foot.  What  a  battle  he  must  have  had 
with  some  wild  rat.  I  only  hope  that  he  killed 
his  enemy,  for  it  practically  killed  him,  as  he 
never  got  over  his  adventures.  He  never 
recovered  his  old  sleek  look;  he  got  weaker 
and  weaker,  until  at  last  all  he  cared  for 
was  to  lie  and  be  petted.  We  got  all  sorts 
of  good  things  for  him,  but  it  was  all  vain, 
and  he  died  two  months  later,  when  he  was 
just  two  years  old.  Poor  old  Whiskers,  a  more 
affectionate  and  intelligent  creature  no  one 
could  have  wished  to  meet  with,  and,  whatever 
the  sins  and  robberies  of  his  kind,  he  was 
entirely  lovable. 

I  have  said  that  Whiskers  was  just  a  common 
rat,  the  kind  that  in  books  is  called  by  various 
names,  such  as  the  grey,  brown,  Norwegian,  or 
Hanoverian  rat.  The  reason  of  the  two  latter 

181 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

names  is  that  once  there  were  no  brown 
rats  in  England;  they  came  here  on  ships, 
some  people  said  on  the  ship  that  brought 
over  George  i.  (but  that  is  almost  certainly 
not  true,  for  the  brown  rats  must  have 
arrived  before  that),  and  so  they  called  them 
Hanoverian  rats.  Other  persons  said  that  they 
came  from  Norway,  so  they  named  them  the 
Norwegian  rats.  And  yet  others  noticing  the 
colour,  and  comparing  them  with  the  rats  which 
were  common  before  the  brown  rats  came, 
called  them  either  c  grey  rats  '  or  c  brown  rats.' 
This  was  by  contrast  with  the  pretty  little  rat, 
generally  black  in  colour,  which  was  our  common 
rat  in  the  days  before  the  brown  rat  turned  up  in 
this  country.  In  the  first  place  there  were  no 
rats  here  at  all !  What  a  pity  they  ever  came  ! 
Previous  to  the  time  of  the  Crusaders  there 
were  no  rats  of  any  kind  to  run  about  our 
houses  and  buildings  and  raid  our  stores, 
gardens,  and  poultry-houses.  They  are  not 
mentioned  in  old  writings,  their  bones  are  not 
among  the  rubbish  where  other  bones  are 
found  in  old  buildings,  and  in  the  Welsh 
language  there  is  not  even  a  word  for  rat, — 
when  the  Welsh  wish  to  speak  of  a  rat  they  use 
words  the  equivalent  of  '  French  '  or  '  foreign 
182 


THIEVES  OF  THE  NIGHT 

mouse.'  *  When  the  Crusaders  went  to  the 
Holy  Land  they  met  with  plenty  of  rats. 
Not  big  coarse  rats  like  our  present  common 
brown  rat,  but  smaller,  slim,  smooth-coated, 
elegant  rats,  with  large  ears  and  big  black 
eyes,  so  that  they  were  more  like  large  mice 
than  anything  else.  Linnaeus,  the  great 
Swedish  naturalist,  saw  this  likeness,  for  he 
named  this  kind  of  rat  Mus  rattus  or  the 
*  mouse  rat.'  When  the  ships  returned  to 
England  from  the  Holy  Land  there  can  be 
no  question  that  many  of  these  rats  got  on 
board,  and  were  in  this  way  brought  home.2 
At  the  present  time  there  are  often  more  *  Old 
English  '  or  '  black  '  rats  on  board  ships  than 
any  other  kind.  Once  landed  in  this  country, 
they  increased  and  spread  from  one  end  of  it 
to  the  other,  and,  being  quick,  active  creatures, 
were  not  content  to  stop  in  the  outbuildings, 
cellars,  and  basements,  but  went  all  over  the 
houses.  The  nuisance  they  must  have  been 
we  can  hardly  imagine  in  these  days  when 
people  are  not  often  bothered  by  rats  in 
houses.  What  it  must  have  meant  can  be 
gathered  from  the  damage  that  was  done  by 
two  which  got  loose  at  my  home.  After  a  great 

1  Barrett-HamUton's  British  Mammals,  p.  679.      2  Ibid.,  p.  582. 

183 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

deal  of  trouble— for  the  Old  English  rat  is  by 
no  means  often  met  with  in  England  nowadays 
— I  got  some  specimens  from  a  seaport.  They 
were  most  interesting  animals,  but  had  one 
terribly  tiresome  habit,  and  that  was  of 
gnawing  their  way  out  of  their  cage.  Though 
kept  in  an  outbuilding,  two  managed  to  get  into 
the  house,  which  they  ransacked  from  top  to 
bottom.  They  found  secret  ways  inside  the 
walls,  raided  the  cupboards  and  store-places, 
and  generally  got  into  more  mischief  than 
any  one  would  believe,  before  I  succeeded  in 
catching  them  up  again.  Fancy  what  it  must 
have  meant  in  the  old  days  when  the  houses 
were  chiefly  built  of  wood  and  rats  could 
make  their  way  anywhere.  It  was  not  only  a 
question  of  the  actual  mischief  done  by  the 
rats,  but  the  terrible  disease  that  they  helped 
to  carry  about.  It  is  now  known  that  rats, 
both  '  brown  '  and  '  black,'  can  have  the  awful 
'  bubonic  plague,'  which  in  bygone  times  was 
a  pestilence  that  often  swept  not  only  over  the 
Continent  but  also  across  these  Islands.  The 
'  Black  Death  '  the  people  called  it.  They  died 
in  hundreds,  whole  families  being  exterminated 
in  a  few  days ;  no  one,  whether  prince  or  beggar, 
was  safe,  and  young  and  old,  rich  and  poor, 
184 


THIEVES  OF  THE  NIGHT 

died  together.  They  never  knew  who  would  go 
next,  nor  in  which  house  the  dreaded  pestilence 
would  appear.  Sometimes  it  would  sweep 
down  one  side  of  a  street  and  leave  the  other, 
then  it  would  visit  one  house  and  miss  the  next. 
Only  of  late  years  have  men  of  science,  working 
in  India  and  other  Eastern  countries  where 
plague  still  kills  thousands  annually,  been  able 
to  explain  it.  They  have  found  out  that  rats 
were  at  the  bottom  of  all  the  trouble.  Not 
only  do  rats  get  plague  as  badly  as  people, 
but  it  is"  entirely  by  means  of  their  fleas  that 
the  bubonic  plague  is  spread.  All  rats  have 
fleas,  and  when  one  dies  they  leave  the  body 
as  soon  as  it  begins  to  grow  cold,  making  for 
the  nearest  living  creature,  often  a  human 
being.  Now  in  the  case  of  a  plague-stricken 
rat,  the  fleas,  which  have  been  sucking  its 
blood,1  carry  with  them  the  germs  of  the 
disease,  and  when  they  bite  their  new  host  the 
awful  germs  of  death  pass  into  his  blood, 
where  they  multiply,  and  quickly  cause  a 
fatal  result. 

We  can  now  understand  how  it  was  that  in 
the  days  when  the  Black  Death  raged  across 

1  '  At  one  meal  a  single  flea  can  take  as  many  as  5000  plague 
germs  into  its  stomach.' — Rats  and  Mice  as  Enemies  of  Mankind,  by 
M.  A.  C.  Hinton,  1918. 

185 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

England  it  spread  so  curiously,  for  of  course 
where  the  disease  appeared  depended  chiefly 
on  which  houses  were  infested  with  rats  and 
which  were  not.  At  that  time  rats  had  a 
much  better  chance  of  spreading  the  disease 
than  they  have  now,  for  the  town  houses  were 
chiefly  wooden  ones  into  which  the  rats  could 
make  their  way  with  very  little  trouble. 
Besides,  the  'black'  or  'Old  English'  rat 
was  much  more  of  a  house  rat  than  our  too 
common  brown  rat  is.  It  was  a  better  climber, 
and  a  more  active  mouse-like  creature  than 
the  latter.  Moreover,  people  were  not  so  par- 
ticular in  those  times  as  we  are  now;  they 
accepted  rats  in  the  house  as  a  matter  of  course, 
and  a  few  fleas  did  not  worry  them.  In  early 
times  it  was  dirt,  not  cleanliness,  which  was 
6  next  to  godliness ' ;  too  much  washing  was 
not  the  fashion  in  any  class  of  life,  so  no  wonder 
the  plague  had  every  chance  of  spreading,  for 
they  little  dreamt  that  it  was  the  rats  which 
scampered  about  so  merrily  that  were  the 
bearers  of  disease  and  death. 

But  the  black  rat's  good  time  in  this  country 

did  not  last  for  ever.     Just  as  it  had  come  from 

the  East,  so  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 

century  there  appeared  in  Europe,  and  soon 

186 


THIEVES   OF   THE   NIGHT 

No.  i.     An  old  English  Black  Rat  busy  eating 
No.  3.    A  Common  Brown  Rat  with  a  hen's  egjj 


THIEVES  OF  THE  NIGHT 

came  on  here,  a  bigger  and  stronger  rat,  the 
common  brown  rat  of  the  present  day.  The 
newcomer  was  not  only  bigger  and  more 
powerful,  but  was  more  savage  and  blood- 
thirsty. By  one  means  and  another  it  pushed 
out  the  old  black  rats  and  took  their  places ; 
it  killed  their  young  ones  whenever  it  came 
across  them,  it  took  possession  of  all  the  best 
food  supplies,  so  that  in  a  short  time  the  Old 
English  rat,  from  being  a  common  everyday 
creature  found  in  every  house  and  garden,  had 
become  quite  rare.  At  the  present  time  it  is 
only  found  in  a  few  seaports,  where  its  numbers 
are  kept  up  by  fresh  arrivals  from  the  ships, 
for  it  is  still  the  most  common  kind  on  board 
boats. 

With  the  arrival  of  the  brown  rat  the 
dreadful  plague  ceased  to  sweep  across  the 
country  as  it  used  to  do ;  for  one  thing  houses 
were  now  better  built,  but  for  another  the  new 
kind  of  rat  was  not  so  fond  of  getting  into  them. 
We  all  know  to  our  cost  that  rats  like  to  be 
about  buildings,  how  they  thieve  and  steal  all 
they  can,  but  the  brown  rat  is  not  the  house 
thief  that  the  black  one  was.  I  have  already 
mentioned  how  two  of  my  tame  black  rats  when 
they  escaped  from  their  cage  at  once  managed 

187 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

to  get  into  the  house,  in  which  rats  had  never 
appeared  before,  and  made  their  way  from  top 
to  bottom  before  I  was  able  to  catch  them 
again.  Of  course,  the  brown  rat  can  also  have 
and  spread  the  plague  by  means  of  its  fleas,  but 
owing  to  its  habits  it  is  not  nearly  such  a 
danger  as  the  older  kind  used  to  be. 

It  is  really  rather  a  mistake  to  call  the 
common  rat  the  brown  rat,  though  this  is  the 
name  generally  used,  for  it  is  sometimes  black 
in  colour,  nor  is  the  name  black  rat  a  good  one 
for  the  other  kind,  as  '  black  '  rats  are  very 
often  fawn  in  colour.  Indeed  none  of  the 
everyday  names  of  these  rats  are  descriptive, 
for  the  black  rat,  though  older  in  England 
than  the  brown,  does  not,  considering  that  it 
was  a  foreigner  that  came  here  in  historical 
times,  deserve  to  be  called  the  Old  English  rat. 
Neither  was  the  brown  rat  a  native  of  Norway 
or  Hanover,  so  what  is  the  use  of  calling  it  the 
Norwegian  or  Hanoverian  rat  ? 

Whatever  their  colouring,  the  two  kinds  can 
generally  be  told  apart  in  the  following  way : 
in  the  case  of  the  brown  rat  the  tail  is  not  quite 
so  long  as  its  head  and  body,  and  in  the  black 
rat  it  is  considerably  longer.  The  ears  of  the 
black  rat  are  large  in  proportion  to  its  head ; 
188 


THIEVES  OF  THE  NIGHT 

its  eyes  too  are  very  big,  looking,  when  it  is 
nervous,  as  if  they  would  jump  out  of  its  head ; 
besides  which  it  is  a  slimmer,  more  mouse-like 
creature  than  the  common  brown  rat,  and  as 
a  rule  is  much  smaller.  Some  people  think  that 
the  tame  black-and-white  rats  that  are  kept 
in  cages  belong  to  this  kind,  but  I  believe  it  is 
never  so,  and  that  pet  rats  are  always  of  the 
common  species— at  any  rate  all  the  piebald 
rats  I  have  seen  have  been  of  the  latter  kind. 
The  tame  black  rats  that  I  had  were  very 
pretty,  interesting  creatures,  the  little  ones 
being  especially  dainty ;  but  I  never  looked  at 
them  without  thinking  what  a  strange  history 
lay  behind  those  elegant,  mouse-like  rats. 
How  once  upon  a  time  their  ancestors  had 
lived  out  in  the  wild  desert,  far  from  men, 
until  some  rat  more  go-ahead  than  its  fellows 
had  found  out  what  good  things  were  to  be 
had  by  following  the  camps  and  hunting  round 
the  dwelling-places  of  mankind,  so  that  they 
became  pests  that  live  only  where  there  are 
people,  and  have  passed  with  human  beings 
froTi  their  home  in  Central  Asia  to  the  farther- 
most corners  of  the  world ;  and  how  another 
rat  of  the  Eastern  deserts,  our  present  common 
rat,  found  out  the  same  thing,  and  not  only 

189 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

took  to  robbing  people  for  a  livelihood,  but 
spread  even  farther  than  its  cousin  the  black 
rat,  and  in  many  countries  drove  its  forerunner 
completely  away  !  So  any  evening  when  you 
are  out  in  the  garden  or  by  the  poultry  pens, 
and  see  one  of  these  thieves  of  the  night  scamper 
off,  remember  how  it  is  that  the  scoundrel 
comes  to  be  there,  and  that  he  is  not  one  of  our 
truly  native  creatures,  like  the  field  mice,  black- 
birds, thrushes,  robins,  and  wrens,  but  an  invader 
from  over  the  seas,  who  has  nothing  to  recom- 
mend him  except  the  cleverness  with  which 
he  raids  and  robs.  When  all  is  said  and  done, 
the  common  brown  rat  is  one  of  the  most 
intelligent  of  animals,  for  it  is  to  his  wits  that 
he  owes  his  great  success  in  the  battle  for 
existence,  in  which  he  has  not  only  wild  animal 
foes  to  fight,  but  we  people  out  of  whom  he 
gets  his  living.  So,  however  big  a  scoundrel 
he  may  be,  I  must  close  this  account  of  rats 
by  paying  my  respects  to  the  cunning,  un- 
scrupulous, and  most  successful  brown  rat. 

(The  Brown  Rat  until  comparatively  recently  has 
been  known  to  science  as  Mus  decumanus  or  norvegicus, 
but  in  Miller's  Catalogue  of  the  Mammals  of  Western 
Europe  (British  Museum,  N.H.,  1912)  it  becomes 
Epimys  norvegicus.  The  Black  Rat,  the  Mus  rattus 
190 


THIEVES  OF  THE  NIGHT 

of  Linnaeus,  is  also  placed  in  the  genus  Epimys, 
becoming  E.  rattus.  There  are  many  forms  and 
varieties  of  the  Black  Rat,  but  Miller  only  allows 
sub-specific  rank  to  the  fawn-coloured  E.  r.  alexan- 
drinus.  Other  authorities  recognise  several  more 
sub-species.) 


191 


CHAPTER  IX 

SOME  GARDEN  BIRDS 

OF  the  many  birds  that  make  their  home  in 
the  garden  where  I  live,  my  favourites  are 
the  pied  wagtails,  that  nest  every  spring 
among  the  creepers  on  the  wall  of  the  house. 
They  are  so  smart  in  their  black,  white,  and 
grey  plumage,  and  flirt  their  long  tails  with 
such  an  impudent  air,  that  I  am  never  tired 
of  watching  them  as  they  run  to  and  fro 
on  the  lawn  after  the  flies,  now  springing  up 
into  the  air,  then  running  quickly  across  the 
grass,  and  all  the  time  the  picture  of  dainty 
life  and  grace.  Each  spring  they  come  back, 
and  are  soon  busy  gathering  odds  and  ends  of 
dried  grass  suitable  for  nest -making,  together 
with  feathers  to  make  a  soft  lining  for  the 
treasures  that  the  nest  will  presently  hold. 
Though  bold  and  in  some  ways  cheeky  little 
birds,  they  are  also  cautious,  and  neither 
cock  nor  hen  ventures  near  the  nest  while  they 
think  that  you  are  watching  them.  They  will 
192 


SOME  GARDEN  BIRDS 

run  backwards  and  forwards  on  the  lawn, 
each  with  his  or  her  beak  full  of  material, 
waiting  until  you  are  out  of  sight,  when,  if  you 
peep  round  a  corner,  you  will  see  them  flying 
up  to  the  nest,  the  whereabouts  of  which 
they  were  so  anxious  to  keep  to  themselves. 
For  sixteen  years  running  pied  wagtails  have 
built  their  nest  on  the  house,  and  as  the  present 
owners  of  the  nesting  site  can  hardly  be  the 
original  pair— for  small  birds,  though  un- 
doubtedly living  longer  than  they  are  generally 
supposed  to,  can  hardly  be  credited  with  reach- 
ing the  age  of  sixteen  or  seventeen  years — the 
question  arises  as  to  whether  they  are  the 
young  of  the  first  ones.  Or  is  the  matter 
arranged,  when  any  accident  happens  to  one  of 
the  pair,  by  the  survivor  bringing  home  another 
mate  ?  I  cannot  say ;  all  I  know  is  that 
every  spring  the  wagtails  come  home  to  their 
old  nesting  site,  and,  not  content  with  one 
family,  generally  build  a  second  nest  after 
getting  rid  of  their  first  brood,  and  launch  a 
another  lot  of  nestlings  into  the  world. 

I  think  one  of  the  prettiest  sights  I  have 
ever  watched,  was  when  I  had  put  up  a  small 
hiding  tent  in  front  of  a  pied  wagtail's  nest, 
for  the  purpose  of  photographing  the  old  ones 

N  193 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

feeding  the  youngsters,   and  saw  the  family 

launch  themselves  into  the  wide  world.     The 

nest  was  not  that  of  my  friends  which  build 

in  the  creepers  on  the  house,  for  they  make 

their  home  too  high  up  for  photography,  but 

of  another  pair  that  had  chosen  a  hole  in  an 

old   wall   belonging   to   some   farm   buildings. 

The  parents  had  got  quite  used  to  my  tent, 

and  took  no  notice  whatever  when  I  was  inside 

with   my   camera,   but   went   backwards   and 

forwards   with   food   for   the    hungry   family. 

In  forty-five  minutes  they  visited  the  nest  nine 

times,  or  on  an  average  once  every  five  minutes. 

Say  they  began  work  at  five  o'clock  (probably 

their  hungry  nestlings  were  begging  for  food 

long  before  that),  and  continued  up  to  nine  at 

night,  which  would  mean  a  sixteen  hour  working 

day,  they  would  between  them  go  backwards 

and  forwards  one  hundred  and  ninety- two  times. 

As  a  rule  birds  that  have  young  to  feed  slacken 

work  a  little  at  mid- day,  but  this  is  their  only 

rest ;  they  otherwise  slave  unceasingly  to  supply 

the  everlastingly  hungry  mites,  and  it  is  not 

only  the  question  of  going  to  and  fro,  but  of 

searching    for   the    insects    in    between.     But 

then    in   the   wild  world  there    are   no  trade 

unions,  no  strikes,  no  eight  hours  day,  and  no 

194 


SOME  GARDEN  BIRDS 

stopping  work  to  do  as  you  like,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  those  creatures  which  will  not  work, 
and  work  hard,  soon  cease  to  exist !  It  is  only 
by  steady  hunting  for  insects  that  families  can 
be  reared  and  sent  out  into  the  world. 

I  have  mentioned  that  I  saw  these  young 
wagtails  start  upon  the  great  adventure — it 
was  early  in  the  morning— 7.15  to  be  exact 
—when  I  went  to  the  nest,  and  found  one  or 
two  of  the  nestlings  had  already  flown,  whHe 
the  rest  were  on  the  point  of  following  them. 
Hastily  hiding  in  the  little  tent  and  bringing 
the  camera  to  bearr  on  the  nest,  I  waited  events. 
The  morning  sun  struck  warmly  on  the  wall, 
and  the  youngsters,  anxious  to  be  off,  yet 
fearful  of  leaving,  kept  hopping  out  of  the 
shadowy  hole  wherein  was  hidden  the  nest, 
standing  for  a  moment  or  two  in  the  light, 
and  then  hopping  back  to  its  shelter.  What 
dainty  little  birds  they  were  in  their  pearl- 
grey  plumage,  which  is  quite  unlike  that  of  the 
old  birds.  They  wear  this  uniform  until  the 
autumn,  then  moult  it  and  assume  the  black 
and  white  dress.  At  last  one  of  them,  gather- 
ing courage,  spread  its  little  wings  and  flew, 
awkwardly  and  feebly  it  is  true,  to  the  top  of  my 
tent,  where  I  could  hear  it  pattering  about 

195 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

overhead.  Soon  another  joined  it,  and  hopped 
to  and  fro.  Presently  they  went  away,  but 
hardly  had  they  flown  than  the  old  wagtail 
appeared  at  the  nest  with  a  beakful  of  grubs. 
Never  have  I  seen  such  an  astonished  and 
4  taken  aback '  look  on  any  creature's  face,  as 
appeared  on  that  of  the  old  bird  when  she 
found  all  her  family  had  gone.  She  looked  into 
the  hole  to  be  sure  she  was  not  making  a 
mistake,  then  flew  off  to  search  for  the  missing 
young  ones,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  she 
found  them  near  the  stack-yard  pool,  for  it  was 
there  that  I  saw  the  wagtail  party  a  few  hours 
later,  running  to  and  fro  on  the  muddy  margin, 
the  old  ones  catching  the  numerous  flies  to  be 
had  by  the  water,  and  the  young  ones  following 
them  and  receiving  the  flies  as  quickly  as  they 
were  caught.  In  a  few  days  those  young  ones 
would  be  able  to  look  after  and  feed  them- 
selves, whereupon  their  parents  would  begin 
another  nest,  for  it  is  wagtail  custom  to  rear 
two  broods  in  the  season.  The  question  is 
what  happens  to  all  the  young  ones,  for, 
notwithstanding  that  each  pair  of  old  birds 
usually  manages  to  bring  up  and  get  off  two 
families  of  five  apiece  each  spring,  the  number 
of  pied  wagtails  in  the  country  gets  neither 
196 


SOME  GARDEN  BIRDS 

more  nor  less.  Of  course  accidents  happen, 
and  many  youngsters  come  to  untimely  ends 
soon  after  leaving  the  nest :  then  there  is  the 
autumn  migration,  when  many  more  get  lost. 
A  few  wagtails  stop  with  us  throughout  the 
winter,  but  the  greater  number  go  south, 
crossing  the  English  Channel,  and  making  for 
the  Mediterranean  region.  That  pied  wagtails 
seen  in  Portugal  and  the  south  of  France  during 
the  winter,  are  the  same  birds  that  were  in 
England  for  the  spring  and  summer,  has  been 
proved  by  putting  small  rings  on  the  legs  of 
nestlings.  A  wagtail  thus  marked  at  Cheadle 
in  Staffordshire  was  taken  the  winter  follow- 
ing the  spring  in  which  it  was  ringed  in 
Portugal.1  But  for  being  captured  this  bird 
would  almost  certainly  have  come  home 
the  next  March  not  only  to  England,  and  one 
particular  county,  but  to  the  very  spot  where 
it  was  born  and  bred  !  We  may  well  wonder 
how  birds  find  their  way  ! 

Yet  the  weest  of  birds  manage  these  long 
journeys.  Take,  for  instance,  the  little  willow 
warbler,  or  willow  wren,  that  tiny  atom  of 
grey-green  feathers,  which  every  April  comes 

1  Ringed  at  Cheadle,  Staffordshire,  by  Mr.  J.  R.  B.  Masefield, 
18th  June  1915,  and  recovered  at  Vieira  de  Leiria,  Portugal,  in 
January  1916.  See  British  Bird*,  vol.  x.  p.  61. 

197 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

to  us  with  the  rest  of  the  migratory  birds. 
This  tiny  dainty  sprite  in  bird's  feathers  wings 
its  way  across  the  seas,  with  the  rest  of  the 
travellers,  and  when  its  song  is  heard  in  the 
budding  hedgerows,  when  we  see  it  slipping  in 
and  out  of  the  bushes  in  the  garden,  we  know 
that  the  spring  is  really  here,  and  that  the 
cuckoo,  if  not  already  arrived,  will  not  be  long 
behind  his  fellow  wanderer. 

Once  it  has  reached  home  (for  I  call  the  spot 
where  a  bird  makes  its  nest  and  rears  its  young 
its  home,  not  the  country  where  it  winters)  the 
little  warbler  does  not  waste  time,  but  finding 
a  mate  as  quickly  as  possible,  or  maybe  joining 
forces  with  its  old  mate,  for  it  is  astonishing 
how  many  birds  pair  for  life,  begins  the  im- 
portant business  of  the  spring  without  delay. 
With  bits  of  grass  and  hay  a  domed  nest  is 
built  on  the  ground,  beneath  a  tuft  of  grass  in 
the  corner  of  the  garden,  by  the  orchard  fence, 
or  anywhere  else  where  there  is  shelter.  It 
is  well  and  warmly  lined  with  feathers,  on 
which  soft  quilt  are  presently  laid  seven  or 
even  eight  tiny  white  eggs  spotted  with  pale 
brown  or  pink  specks.  They  are  the  most 
lovely  of  small  eggs,  the  shells  being  so  trans- 
parent and  delicate  that  the  yolks  are  seen 
198 


SOME  GARDEN  BIRDS 

through    them    and    give    the    eggs    a   pinky 
warm  shade  impossible  to  describe. 

One  spring  I  found  a  clutch  of  these  beautiful 
wee  eggs  in  their  domed  nest  on  the  bank  of 
the  kitchen-garden  hedge,  so  quickly  had  the 
bird  photography  tent  up,  and,  as  soon  as  the 
birds  had  got  accustomed  to  it,  tried  to  take 
some    photographs   of   them.     They   did   not 
mind  in  the  least  the  noise   of   my    shutter 
going  off,  nor  did  the  rattle  of  a  slide  being 
closed  bother  them  a  bit.     I  took  one  picture 
of  the  hen   going    into    the    nest,   and    then 
could  not  get  her  to  come  out  again  until  I 
left  the  tent,  and  even  when  she  saw  me  step 
into  the  open  she  was  not  really  frightened 
or  in  any  hurry  to  leave  her  precious  eggs. 
Indeed  they  were  a  most  charming  and  con- 
fiding  pair,   and   once  the   young   ones   were 
hatched  they  went  backwards  and  forwards 
with  food  without  any  regard  whatever  to  any 
noises    I    might    make    in    my    hiding-place. 
They  worked  as  hard  as  my  wagtail  friends, 
if  not  harder,  for  whereas  the  wagtails  had  had 
but  five  young  they  had  seven  to  provide  for. 
It  was  chiefly  small  green  caterpillars  that  were 
brought,  and  gave  one  some  idea  of  the  great 
good  that  is  done  by  these  small  insect-eating 

199 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

birds,  for  the  number  destroyed  by  this  one 
pair  must  have  been  enormous,  and  as  the 
willow  wren  is  a  very  common  bird  it  must  kill 
millions  of  harmful  grubs  in  the  course  of  the 
summer.  What  a  twittering  there  was  from 
the  youngsters  each  time  one  of  the  old  birds 
returned  with  a  beakful  of  these  little  cater- 
pillars, but  neither  parent  ever  hurried  himself 
or  herself,  carefully  and  deliberately  a  fair 
share  of  the  good  things  was  pushed  down  the 
throats  of  certain  of  the  nestlings.  As  they  all 
appeared  equally  well-fed  and  looked  after, 
I  suppose  the  old  birds  took  care  that  those 
missed  at  one  visit  should  be  fed  first  at  the 
next,  though  how  they  told  one  from  another, 
or  knew  which  they  had  fed  last,  was  a  com- 
plete puzzle  to  a  mere  human.  The  meal 
over,  the  little  ones  would  sink  back  into 
the  nest,  while  the  parent  remained  for  a 
moment  in  the  entrance  hole  waiting  to 
see  if  any  of  them  wanted  attention.  The 
nest  was  kept  beautifully  clean,  everything 
being  carried  away  by  the  old  birds.  They 
never  got  soiled  when  doing  this,  as  the 
excreta  of  all  nestlings  whose  parents  look 
after  them  in  this  respect  is  covered  with 
a  slimy  non-adhesive  coating,  that  enables  it 
200 


SOME  GARDEN  BIRDS 

to  be  handled,  or  rather  to  be  taken  in  the 
beak,  without  any  fear  of  being  messed  by  it. 
It  is  all  carried  to  a  distance  and  then  dropped, 
so  that  there  shall  not  be  anything  to  betray 
the  spot  where  the  nest  is  hidden.  Very  well 
hidden,  too,  was  this  particular  willow  wren's 
nest,  being  placed  on  a  hedge  bank  among  ivy 
and  grass.  The  roof  of  grass  not  only  hid  the 
eggs  from  view,  but  was  so  like  a  heap  of  odds 
and  ends  of  dry  stuff  that  even  if  you  had 
caught  sight  of  it  you  would  never  have 
,  thought  of  it  being  a  nest.  Why  this  bird 
should  take  such  trouble  to  weave  a  dome 
over  its  nest  while  other  ground-building 
birds  like  the  robin  are  contented  with  an  open 
cup,  is  a  question  that  has  often  puzzled  me. 
Of  course  the  robin  generally  builds  hi  a  hole 
in  a  bank,  and  the  willow  wren  builds  on  the 
ground,  hardly  ever  choosing  a  recess,  yet 
there  are  plenty  of  other  kinds  of  birds,  such 
as  the  skylark,  that  make  an  open  nest  with  no 
cover  out  in  the  middle  of  a  meadow.  Person- 
ally, I  think  the  willow  wren's  domed  nest  is 
to  keep  the  sun  off  the  young  birds,  which  are 
greatly  distressed  by  heat.  One  sultry  morn- 
ing the  nestlings  in  question  could  be  seen 
lying  with  necks  outstretched  panting  and 

201 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

gasping,  yet  the  sun  was  not  shining  directly 
on  the  nest.     It  is  almost  certainly  the  wish 
for  shade  and  coolness  that  makes  so  many 
birds  build  in  dark  evergreen  trees,  such  as  fir 
and  yews.     But  however  hot  they  were,  the 
young  willow  warblers  never  lost  their  appetites. 
They  knew  that  the  old  one  was  coming  with 
food  long  before  she  or  he  got  near  the  nest; 
their  heads  would  shoot  up,  their  beaks  being 
opened    wide,    and    I   had    a   view    of   seven 
gaping  throats  quivering  backwards  and  for- 
wards in  eager  expectation.     If  anything  caused 
the  parent  to  turn  back,  they  would  sink  dis- 
appointedly down  again,  only  to  thrust  their 
heads  towards  the  entrance  when  a  twig  or 
a    leaf    rustled     again     a    moment     or    two 
later. 

Day  after  day  I  watched  all  these  happy 
home  arrangements.  I  saw  the  little  mother 
brooding,  feeding  and  caring  for  her  nestlings, 
and  the  father's  fond  anxiety ;  how  he  helped 
with  all  the  duties,  and  how  the  pair  twittered 
and  scolded  when  any  person  came  by,  trying 
to  take  their  attention  and  draw  them  from  the 
spot  where  the  nest  was  hidden.  Cats  in  par- 
ticular worried  them  dreadfully,  and,  as  it 
turned  out,  their  fear  was  not  without  ground. 
202 


SOME  GARDEN  BIRDS 

The  nestlings  had  grown  very  fast,  they  were 
already  well  clad  with  feathers,  and  another 
day  or  perhaps  two  would  have  seen  them 
launched  into  the  world,  but  the  next  morning, 
when  I  went  to  look  and  see  if  they  would  get 
away  that  day,  I  was  horrified  to  find,  in  the 
place  of  the  neat  ball  of  woven  grass  tucked 
down  among  the  plants  that  grew  on  the  bank, 
a  handful  of  rubbish  strewn  on  the  ground. 
The  tragedy  was  apparent  at  a  glance ;  the  nest 
had  been  torn  to  pieces  and  the  young  birds 
were    gone.     There    could    be    little    question 
but  that  a  cat  had  eaten  them.     I  greatly  fear 
that  it  was  my  old  pet  cat  who  was  responsible 
for  the  crime,   but  in  the  absence  of  direct 
evidence   it  could   not   be   brought   home   to 
her ;  all  the  same  I  did  not  feel  at  all  pleased 
with  her  for  many  a  day  afterwards. 

The  poor  little  parents  could  not  have 
wasted  much  time  grieving  over  their  loss,  for 
within  a  very  short  time  I  found  another  willow 
wren's  nest  near  the  old  spot.  This  family  was 
reared  in  safety,  and  before  they  left  the  nest 
I  put  tiny  rings  on  their  legs  so  that  if  ever  I 
met  them  again  I  should  know  them.  They 
were  about  the  kitchen  garden  for  a  little 
while,  eating  the  green  saw-fly  grubs  from  the 

203 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

gooseberry  bushes,  and  hunting  the  rows  of 
peas  from  end  to  end,  but  the  autumn  was 
coming,  so  one  day  they  vanished,  no  doubt 
to  travel  south  with  other  birds,  to  places 
where  the  winter  is  mild  enough  for  little 
insect-eating  birds  to  live  in  comfort.  We 
may  well  wonder  how  such  tiny  creatures 
manage  not  only  to  fly  for  such  long  distances, 
but  to  find  their  ways.  In  many  cases,  for 
instance  that  of  the  cuckoo,  the  old  birds  leave 
for  the  Continent  a  month  or  more  before  the 
young  ones,  so  there  cannot  be  any  question  of 
the  youngsters  being  shown  the  way  by  their 
parents.  Some  people  say  that  the  birds 
simply  drift  south  before  the  cold  northerly 
winds,  which  may  certainly  have  something  to 
do  with  it,  but  not  everything,  for  on  the  return 
migration  in  the  spring  birds  often  arrive  in 
the  teeth  of  a  north-easterly  wind.  The  usual 
answer,  that  the  whole  thing  is  a  matter  of 
instinct,  really  is  no  answer  at  all,  for  we  want 
to  know  how  instinct  works  and  how  it  tells 
the  birds  what  to  do  and  which  way  to  go  ! 
The  untaught  knowledge  that  so  many  birds 
have,  of  how  to  find  their  way  across  hundreds 
of  miles  of  sea  and  land,  is  one  of  the  most 
marvellous  of  the  many  marvellous  things  in 
204 


SOME  GARDEN  BIRDS 

Nature,  and  one  about  which  there  is  yet  a 
great  deal  to  be  learnt. 

Though  so  many  birds  migrate  regularly, 
other  kinds  are  practically  stationary  all  the 
year  round ;  the  different  tits,  for  example,  do 
not  travel  far  as  a  rule.  They  are  much  at- 
tached to  their  home  districts,  and  no  birds 
keep  so  strictly  to  the  one  nesting  place. 
Year  after  year  you  will  find  a  pair  of  tits 
nesting  in  the  same  hole  in  some  tree  or  wall. 
I  know  of  an  apple-tree  with  a  hole  in  a 
bough  wherein  a  paijv  of  blue  tits  have  nested 
every  spring  as  long  as  I  can  remember ;  then 
there  are  a  pair  of  coal  tits  (coal  tits  are  those 
black-headed  tits  with  a  white  patch  on  the 
nape  of  the  neck)  which,  year  after  year,  have 
bred  in  a  certain  hole  in  an  old  yew-tree ;  and 
the  handsome  great  tits,  a  pair  of  which  nested 
for  eight  or  nine  seasons  in  the  kitchen-garden 
wall,  only  to  return  one  spring  and  find  that 
their  hole  had  been  stopped  up  with  mortar 
when  the  wall  was  repaired  the  autumn  before. 
Another  pair  of  great  tits  have  for  years  made 
their  home  in  a  disused  pump  in  the  backyard. 
At  one  time  when  the  pump  was  in  daily  use 
they  tried  in  vain  to  get  a  nest  made  in  it. 
Quantities  of  moss  and  rubbish  were  thrown 

205 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

out  daily  with  the  water,  but  still  they  perse- 
vered and,  entering  by  the  hole  over  the  handle, 
dropped  their  loads  of  building  material  down 
the  shaft.  How  the  people  who  went  for  water 
grumbled  at  the  mess  that  the  birds  had  made ! 
They  had  no  sympathy  whatever  for  the  little 
creatures  that  pushed  odds  and  ends  of  moss, 
grass,  and  fir  needles  so  untiringly  down  into 
the  shaft.  However,  all  things  come  to  those 
who  try  long  enough,  and  one  day  the  pump 
got  out  of  order,  water  would  not  come,  and, 
as  another  and  better  supply  was  at  hand,  the 
old  pump  was  allowed  to  stand  idle  and 
unrepaired.  The  following  spring  the  tits  got 
to  work  without  delay;  they  stuffed  the  top 
of  the  pump  full  of  bits  of  grass  and  hay,  then 
they  were  seen  bringing  moss  to  make  the  cup, 
and  lastly  quantities  of  soft  warm  rabbit's  wool 
to  line  it  with.  By  standing  on  the  pump 
trough  and  lifting  up  the  top  of  the  pump,  one 
could  see  how  they  were  getting  on.  It  was 
astonishing  what  good  progress  they  made, 
and  how  soon  the  nest  was  ready  for  eggs. 
Then  there  came  a  morning  when  a  delicate 
pinky-white  egg  spotted  with  small  red  specks 
was  found  nearly  hidden  in  the  rabbit's  wool 
lining.  It  is  a  point  worth  noting  that  the 
206 


SOME  GARDEN  BIRDS 

first  few  eggs  laid  are  invariably  covered  up 
with  a  nice  quilt  of  wool,  so  that  one  cannot 
at  first  glance  see  how  many  there  are.     The 
old  bird  begins  to  sit  before  the  clutch  is  com- 
plete,  when  the  fourth  or  fifth  egg  is  laid, 
another  three  or  four  being  added  afterwards, 
seven  to  nine  being  the  complete  set.     The 
result  is  that  one  or  two  of  the  little  birds  are 
rather  behind  the  rest  of  the  family  in  hatching, 
and  there  is  often,  as  in  a  large  family  of  young 
pigs,  a  '  harkner  '  or  little  one.     The  parent 
great  tit  is  a  bold  little  bird;  she  believes  in 
trying  to   bluff  her  foes,  so  if  disturbed  when 
sitting    makes    a    hissing    noise    and    bounces 
up   and   down  in   her   hole.      The   first  time 
my   friend    in    the    pump   did   it   she    fairly 
startled  me,  and  I  can  well  believe  that  the 
hissing  and  noise   would  frighten   away  any 
intruding   mouse,    starling,    or   other   bird   or 
beast  that  might  try  and  interfere.     Starlings 
are  a  great  nuisance  to  the  rest  of  the  birds 
that  make  their  nests  in  holes,  for  they  are 
quite  without  conscience,  and  if  the  entrance 
to    a    hole    is    big    enough    for    them  to  get 
inside,   will    not    hesitate    to  bundle  out  the 
occupiers'    eggs    and    take    possession    of   the 
place.     Before  now  I  have  found  the  eggs  of 

207 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

the  first  comers  lying  broken  on  the  ground 
and  the  unscrupulous  starlings  rearranging 
and  adding  to  the  nest  to  suit  themselves. 
However,  the  hissing  noise  must  be  start- 
ling for  such  intruders.  It  is  curious  what 
a  number  of  creatures  make  a  snake -like 
hiss  when  they  want  to  bluff  animals  bigger 
than  themselves  out  of  attacking.  Take  the 
sitting  wild  duck,  the  domestic  cat,  and  the 
ferret  as  examples.  These  widely  separated 
creatures  all  hiss  and  spit  when  they  want  to 
intimidate  an  enemy.  For  its  size  not  one 
puts  up  a  better  bluff  than  the  great  tit,  unless 
it  is  its  smaller  relation  the  blue  tit,  which  can 
also  make  a  most  effective  hiss.  Even  when 
one  knows  what  to  expect,  you  cannot  help 
starting  at  such  a  strange  noise  coming  from 
a  mere  bird,  and  anybody  not  knowing  would, 
I  am  sure,  have  thought  there  was  a  snake 
down  our  yard  pump  whenever  the  great  tit 
made  this  noise. 

Before  going  on  to  tell  about  the  young 
great  tits  it  may  be  as  well  to  say  the  great 
tit  is  the  largest  of  our  British  tits,  it  is  alto- 
gether a  stronger,  bigger,  and  longer-legged 
bird  than  any  of  the  others ;  it  is  also  a  very 
smart  creature  in  its  blue-grey  plumage,  with 
208 


SOME  GARDEN  BIRDS 

wing  bars,  white  cheeks,  black  top  to  its  head, 
black  throat,  and  the  black  extending  down 
the  front  of  its  greeny  yellow  waistcoat.  The 
black  down  the  breast  is  broader  and  extends 
farther  in  the  male,  but  otherwise  the  two 
sexes  are  much  alike.  During  the  nesting 
season  both  get  shabby,  and  the  hen  is  usually 
very  worn  in  her  feathers  before  she  gets  the 
young  ones  off ;  indeed  you  would  hardly  know 
her  for  the  smart  tidy  bird  that  came  house- 
hunting in  March.  But  the  change  is  no  matter 
for  wonder,  considering  how  hard  she  and  her 
mate  have  to  work  from  early  morning  to  late 
at  night,  bringing  caterpillars  and  other  grubs 
in  a  vain  endeavour  to  satisfy  their  ever 
hungry  young.  The  little  ones  keep  up  an 
incessant  squeaking,  which  rises  higher  every 
time  the  old  birds  go  near  the  nest,  only  dying 
down  for  a  moment  after  the  food  has  been 
delivered.  All  caterpillars  are  carefully  pinched 
and  pecked  to  make  sure  they  are  dead  before 
being  brought  to  the  nest.  I  have  watched  a 
bird  take  a  fat  green  caterpillar  under  one 
foot,  and  peck  and  pull  until  not  a  wriggle 
was  left  in  it,  then  take  it  in  its  beak  and  fly 
down  to  the  pump.  The  constant  attention  of 
the  parents  has  its  reward,  for  the  young  grow 

o  209 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

amazingly  fast,  and  are  soon  clad  in  a  smart 
uniform  of  feathers  that  puts  their  worn  and 
shabby  parents  to  shame.  Soon  they  are 
scrambling  up  to  the  entrance  hole  and  peeping 
out  into  the  yard,  after  which  it  is  only  a  matter 
of  hours  until  they  leave.  The  first  flight  is  a 
critical  time,  for  the  cats,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
tame  raven  that  lives  in  the  backyard,  are  all 
on  the  look  out  for  tender  young  fledglings. 
If  they  manage  to  flutter  across  to  the  ivy- 
clad  wall,  and  from  thence  to  the  big  Spanish 
chestnut  tree,  all  will  be  well.  The  chattering 
and  scolding  of  the  old  birds  betrays  how 
anxious  they  are,  but  once  they  get  them  into 
the  trees  they  are  fairly  safe. 

Unlike  so  many  other  birds,  tits  do  not 
break  up  their  family  parties,  but  remain 
together  all  winter.  In  the  autumn  several 
lots  will  join  forces;  blue  tits,  coal  tits,  and 
great  tits  will  flit  twittering  happily  together 
through  the  trees,  and  what  a  pretty  sight  it  is 
to  watch  them  as  they  search  here  and  there 
for  hidden  insects.  A  blue  tit  hangs  upside 
down  peeping  into  a  curled  and  withered  leaf 
that  has  not  yet  fallen  from  its  place.  A  great 
tit  having  found  a  nut  carries  it  to  the  trunk 
of  a  tree,  drops  it  into  a  convenient  crack  in 
210 


SOME  GARDEN  BIRDS 

the  bark,  where,  having  got  it  firmly  fixed,  he 
proceeds  to  hammer  it  with  his  strong  pointed 
beak.  Soon  he  has  drilled  a  hole  in  the  upper 
end,  and  is  picking  out  the  kernel.  Only  one 
or  two  other  birds  know  how  to  do  this,  and 
the  habit  is  not  shared  by  the  rest  of  the  tits, 
so  whenever  you  find  a  lot  of  nuts  wedged  into 
crevices  in  the  bark  of  a  tree  you  may  feel 
fairly  sure  that  it  is  the  work  of  a  great  tit.  A 
species  that  has  a  similar  habit  is  that  curious 
little  tree-climbing  bird  the  nuthatch,  but  it  is 
not  nearly  so  plentiful  as  our  friend  the  tit. 

The  best  way  to  get  to  know  the  tits  well  is  to 
hang  up  near  your  window  a  cocoanut,  or  a 
bone  with  a  bit  of  meat  left  on  it,  for  either 
is  a  great  attraction,  when  you  will  soon  have 
them  coming  to  the  feast,  and  you  will  be  able 
to  watch  them  at  their  acrobatic  tricks,  pecking 
away  while  hanging  upside  down,  swinging 
happily  to  and  fro  while  the  wind  sways  the 
cocoanut,  and  in  fact  showing  off  their  accom- 
plishments. What  dainty  birds  they  are,  so 
tidy  and  smart  in  their  neat  plumage,  the  blue 
tit  being  perhaps  the  most  charming,  though 
the  coal  and  marsh  tits  are  also  very  fascinating. 
The  great  tit  puts  on  quite  a  lot  of  *  side ' ;  he 
walks  about  on  the  lawn  as  if  the  place  belongs 

211 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

to  him,  and  when  he  comes  to  dine  the  other 
birds   give   way   before   him,   for   they   know 
all  about  the   pecking   power  of  that   short, 
sharp,  stout  bill  of  his.     The  winter  over,  the 
tit  flocks  break  up,  the  old  birds  to  go  home 
to  their  nesting  quarters,  and  the  younger  ones 
to  seek  a  home.     I  firmly  believe  that  all  tits 
mate   for  life,   and   indeed  that   many   other 
birds  do  too.     I  am  sure  that  pairing  is  no 
light  matter  and  that  the  majority  of  birds  are 
far  more  faithful  to  each  other  than  is  commonly 
supposed.     Only  in  this  way  can  the  regularity 
with  which  they  return  to  their  old  nesting 
places  be  accounted  for.    Swallows  and  martins, 
for  instance,  invariably  come  back  to  the  old 
home.     My  tits  in  the  backyard  pump  nested 
there   for   eight   seasons  running;   then  came 
the  awful  winter  of  1916-17,  from  which  many 
kinds     of    birds     have     not     recovered    yet. 
Previous   to   that   season   the    long-tailed   tit 
was  one   of  the  commonest  birds  about  my 
home.     Every  spring  I  found  five  or  six  of  its 
exquisitely  made  lichen-covered  domed  nests, 
but  the  long-continued  severe  weather  exter- 
minated the   poor  little  things,   and   I  have 
hardly  seen  one  since  and  have  not  found  a 
single  nest.     The  stronger,  more  robust  great 
212 


SOME  GARDEN  BIRDS 

tits  and  blue  tits  did  not  suffer  so  much,  yet 
many  must  have  died,  for  they  were  not  nearly 
so  numerous  the  following  spring.  I  think 
the  pair  belonging  to  the  pump  must  have 
perished  too,  for  it  was  not  occupied  that  spring. 
Early  in  March  a  pair  of  great  tits  did  turn  up 
and  go  in  and  out  of  the  pump  as  if  house- 
hunting, but  they  went  away  again,  and  the 
pump  stood  empty  all  that  breeding  season. 
Had  they  been  the  old  couple  I  do  not  think 
they  would  have  deserted  their  home  in  this 
way.  The  visitors  must  have  been  a  young 
pair  looking  for  a  nesting  place.  For  another 
spring  the  pump  remained  deserted,  but  now 
it  is  reoccupied,  and  once  more  a  tit  family 
have  been  reared  in  it,  and  the  hungry  twitter- 
ing of  the  young  birds,  together  with  the 
anxious  chatter  of  the  old  ones,  can  be  heard 
most  of  the  day. 

(The  Pied  Wagtail  is  known  scientifically  as  Motacilla 
a.  lugubris ;  the  name  of  the  Willow  Wren,  or  Willow 
Warbler,  is  Phylloscopus  t.  trochilus,  and  the  Great 
Tit  is  known  as  Parus  major  newtoni.) 


218 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  HEDGEHOG 

THE  hedgehog  is  a  shy  little  creature,  living  a 
quiet  retired  life,  and  only  coming  out  at  dusk 
when  all  the  noisy  creatures  of  the  day  have 
gone  home  to  bed.  When  the  dusk  is  falling, 
when  the  bats  begin  to  flit  to  and  fro,  and  the 
dor-beetle  blunders  noisily  through  the  twilight, 
a  stir  and  faint  rustle  in  the  grass  will  tell  that 
the  hedgehog  is  abroad,  nosing  here  and  there 
among  the  dew- soaked  herbage  for  slugs  and 
night-roaming  insects.  No  wonder  it  only  goes 
hunting  by  night,  for  it  has  no  means  of 
defending  itself  save  its  covering  of  prickly 
spines.  These  are  its  armour  and  defence. 
When  danger  threatens,  all  it  can  do  is  to  roll 
itself  up  into  a  ball,  and  hope  for  the  best. 
It  cannot  run  quickly  enough  to  get  away, 
and  its  teeth  are  not  strong  enough  to  do  much 
harm  to  a  foe,  therefore,  whenever  it  hears  any 
sound,  it  does  not  wait  to  see  what  is  the 
matter,  but  straightway  makes  itself  into  a  ball. 
214 


THE  HEDGEHOG 

It  is  this  ball  of  prickles— and  very  prickly 
prickles  they  are  too — which  most  people  think 
of  when  they  speak  of  a  hedgehog.  Very  few 
know  what  the  creature  is  like  when  happy 
and  unfrightened.  When  rolled  up  like  this  a 
hedgehog  is  well  worth  looking  at  carefully,  for 
we  have  no  other  creature  in  England  which 
defends  itself  in  the  same  way,  though  in  other 
countries  there  are  animals  with  even  longer 
spines,  e.g.  the  North  American  porcupine, 
which  with  its  long  quills  has  carried  the  idea 
a  great  deal  further  than  our  little  English 
hedgehog.  However,  as  I  have  said,  the  latter 
is  quite  prickly  enough,  yet  it  is  worth  while 
picking  one  up  and  turning  it  over.  How 
tightly  it  is  rolled  up  !  Even  by  pushing  one's 
fingers  into  the  spot  where  its  head  and  tail 
meet  one  cannot  force  it  to  uncurl — indeed 
it  only  rolls  tighter.  The  spines,  about  an 
inch  long,  stand  out  in  every  direction,  and  the 
more  the  hedgehog  is  frightened  and  annoyed 
the  more  tightly  it  contracts  and  the  more 
the  prickles  stand  on  end.  The  rolling  up  is 
done  by  means  of  a  powerful  muscle  which  lies 
under  the  skin,  being  also  used  hi  raising  the 
spines.  These  it  will  be  found  are  very  hard, 
but  not  brittle,  so  do  not  break  easily,  and 

215 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

help  to  protect  their  owner  not  only  from 
creatures  which  attack  with  tooth  and  claw, 
but  from  blows  and  falls.  It  can  roll  safely 
down  from  a  height  which  would  badly  hurt 
any  animal  without  elastic  prickles  to  break 
its  fall.  The  spines,  which  are  prettily  banded 
with  brownish-grey  tints,  are  thinner  at  the 
base  than  in  the  middle,  and  sharply  pointed 
at  the  '  business  end ' ;  in  fact,  we  can  under- 
stand that  the  prickles  form  a  most  unpleasant 
mouthful  for  any  one  of  the  animals  that 
earns  its  living  by  preying  upon  others,  such 
as  the  fox  and  badger,  and  that  a  dog 
would  have  to  be  a  very  determined  one, 
and  be  backed  up  and  encouraged  by  a 
master,  before  it  would  willingly  go  at  the 
prickly  ball.  In  this  attitude  the  little  animal 
has  all  its  soft  parts  well  protected ;  all  that  is 
to  be  seen  are  the  spines  set  in  the  leathery  skin. 
We  can  imagine  a  young  and  innocent  fox-cub 
out  hunting  for  the  first  time  by  itself,  seeing 
something  move  in  the  grass,  how  it  would 
stand  and  gaze,  dimly  making  out  in  the  dark 
the  round  shape,  then  it  crouching  and  spring- 
ing, and  the  whine  of  annoyance  and  pain  as 
pads  and  muzzle  are  pricked  and  stung  by 
that  living  pin-cushion  !  After  that  it  would 
216 


THE  HEDGEHOG 

leave  hedgehogs  in  peace— it  would  not  want 
to  jump  on  one  a  second  time  ! 

When  not  alarmed,  what  a  different  creature 
the  hedgehog  is  from  that  ball  of  prickles  we  know 
so  well.  The  spines  lie  down  quite  flat,  being 
pressed  evenly  and  closely  to  its  body,  so  that 
they  look  almost  like  an  ordinary  coat  of  hair, 
and  can  hardly  be  told  at  a  little  distance  from 
the  grey  hairs  that  fringe  its  face  and  cover 
its  stomach  and  legs.  Of  course  there  are  no 
spines  mixed  with  the  coarse  hair  on  the  under 
parts,  for  they  would  be  no  use  here,  and  would 
only  get  in  the  way,  being  an  annoyance  and 
a  hindrance  whenever  it  rolled  up.  When  it 
looks  up  on  the  alert  it  has  a  keen  intelligent 
little  face,  sharp  eyes  like  black  beads,  small 
ears  hidden  among  the  rough  hair,  a  long  snout, 
and  sensitive  nose,  which  has  earned  for  it  its 
name  of  '  pig  of  the  hedge  '  or  '  hedgehog.' 
In  many  parts  of  the  country  it  is  also  called 
the  '  urchin,'  but  the  former  name  suits  it 
best,  for  with  its  short  legs,  rather  long  body, 
tiny  tail,  and  pig-like  way  of  rooting  about, 
the  likeness  is  undeniable.  Of  course  it  has 
really  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  a  pig,  being 
a  totally  different  kind  of  creature.  Despite 
its  short  legs  its  movements  are  more  nimble 

217 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

than  one  would  expect;  it  can  climb  quite 
steep  banks  in  a  surprising  manner,  and  jog 
along  over  uneven  ground  at  a  fairly  good 
pace,  though  not  fast  enough  to  get  away  from 
any  enemy,  nor  even  to  catch  the  youngest 
of  birds  or  rabbits,  even  supposing  it  wanted 
to  do  so ! 

Strictly  speaking  the  hedgehog  is  an  insect- 
eater,  disposing  of  great  quantities  of  beetles, 
worms,  and  slugs  in  the  course  of  a  summer's 
night.  If  you  find  little  oval  lumps  of  black 
substance  on  the  lawn  in  a  morning,  made  up 
of  crunched  beetles'  wings,  you  may  know 
that  a  hedgehog  was  hunting  the  grass  the 
night  before.  Gardeners  should  always  take 
care  of  these  animals,  for  they  are  a  great  help 
to  them,  getting  rid  of  more  slugs  than  any- 
thing else.  While  the  man  is  finding  and  killing 
half  a  dozen,  the  hedgehog  will  have  nosed  out 
and  eaten  a  score.  But  it  is  not  called  the  pig 
of  the  fences  for  nothing ;  like  its  namesake  it 
does  not  mind  what  it  eats,  it  is  not  at  all 
particular.  If  it  should  meet  with  some  dead 
animal,  with  carrion  of  any  sort,  it  will  not 
waste  the  chance,  but  begin  at  once  to  make  a 
good  meal.  Its  little  sharp  teeth,  though 
especially  adapted  for  eating  insects,  do  equally 
218 


THE  HEDGEHOG 

well  for  chewing  up  rather  '  high '  meat. 
Supposing  an  urchin  is  hunting  as  usual  for 
worms  and  beetles,  smelling  here,  smelling 
there,  pushing  his  sensitive  snout  in  between 
the  grass  stems,  finding  many  a  slug,  scores  of 
worms,  and  endless  insects,  each  being  crunched 
up  with  noisy  relish,  yet  leaving  him  hungry 
and  unsatisfied,  for  small  things  like  this  do 
not  take  up  much  room,  and  it  needs  a  very 
great  many  of  them  to  make  a  satisfying  meal. 
He  is  still  hungry  when  his  nose  goes  up  in  the 
air,  sniffing,  sniffing  !  Surely  that  smell  means 
carrion  ?  His  eyes  are  not  very  good,  he  does 
not  see  far  clearly,  but  his  nose  can  tell  fine 
shades  of  smell  of  which  you  and  I  have  no 
idea,  and  this  that  now  comes  down  the  faint 
evening  breeze  is  unmistakable,  so  he  foHows 
it  up,  waddling  steadily  forward  as  the  smell 
gets  stronger  and  stronger.  To  him  it  is 
delightful,  and  he  plods  on  questing  this  way 
and  that  until  his  nose  leads  him  to  a  dead 
rabbit  lying  out  in  the  field.  It  has  been  killed 
some  days,  as  can  be  told  by  its  more  than 
strong  scent,  its  eyes  are  gone,  picked  out  by 
a  magpie  probably,  and  the  orange  and  black 
burying  beetles  who  lay  their  eggs  upon  such 
carcasses  have  already  come  and  are  hurrying 

219 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

about  it  like  undertakers.  The  way  the  poor 
rabbit  met  its  fate  is  plain  enough,  for  there  is 
a  red  hole  bitten  in  the  back  of  its  neck  ;  that 
is  the  work  of  the  stoat,  so  the  stoat,  and  he 
alone,  is  the  culprit.  But  the  hedgehog  does 
not  care  how  the  rabbit  died,  all  he  thinks 
about  is  a  good  meal,  and  a  dead  rabbit  like 
this  promises  a  very  good  meal  indeed.  He 
is  in  such  a  hurry  to  get  to  work  that  he 
does  not  even  take  any  notice  when  he  feels 
that  shake  of  the  ground  caused  by  a  startled 
rabbit  thumping  with  its  heels  to  warn  its 
friends  that  there  is  danger  about.  When 
anything  frightens  a  rabbit  that  is  out  feeding, 
it  always,  before  running  away,  hits  the  ground 
with  its  hind  feet.  The  thump  carries  far, 
and  tells  all  the  other  rabbits  to  look  out, 
to  beware.  As  a  rule,  the  hedgehog  pays 
attention  to  this  signal,  putting  up  his  spines, 
and  preparing  to  roll  up,  but  he  has  already 
begun  to  eat,  and  for  once  takes  no  notice. 
Pushing  his  nose  through  the  hole  the  stoat  has 
made  he  chews  steadily  at  the  meat,  eating 
with  a  noisy  smacking  of  his  lips  and  crunching 
of  his  teeth  which  cells  how  he  is  enjoying 
himself.  He  eats  vulgarly,  noisily,  in  fact 
like  a  pig !  He  is  enjoying  the  meal  so  much 
220 


THE  HEDGEHOG 

that  he  takes  no  notice  of  the  rabbit  signals 
which  are  being  given  all  round  him,  though, 
usually,  he  is  most  sensitive  to  vibrations  of 
the  ground.  White  tails  bob  past  as  the  rabbits 
flee  to  their  homes,  just  shadowy  shapes  in 
the  dusk  racing  for  their  holes.  Something 
has  evidently  frightened  them,  but  still  the 
hedgehog  goes  on  eating.  At  last  he  too  catches 
the  alarm,  his  spines  rise  along  his  back  as 
he  hears  and  feels  the  regular  thump  thump 
of  a  heavy-footed  man  coming  near.  It  is  the 
gamekeeper  going  home  late.  It  is  so  dark 
that  he  nearly  passes  the  hedgehog,  but, 
catching  a  glimpse  of  something  black  in  the 
grass,  stops,  strikes  a  match,  and  as  the  flame 
leaps  up  sees  at  his  feet  that  ball  of  prickles, 
which  a  moment  ago  was  a  slim  smooth  animal. 
The  hedgehog  is  on  the  top  of  the  rabbit,  which 
is  partly  eaten,  so  of  course  the  keeper,  who 
does  not  notice  the  rabbit  has  been  dead  for 
days,  concludes  the  urchin  must  have  killed  it. 
Exclaiming,  '  Drat  these  urchins  ! '  he  deals 
the  poor  hedgehog  a  blow  with  his  stick. 
Not  even  prickly  armour  is  any  good  against 
a  heavy  stick,  his  '  wait  and  see  '  attitude  is 
this  time  fatal  to  the  little  animal,  and 
next  morning  his  body  is  swinging  with  crows, 

221 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

magpies,  stoats,  and  weasels  on  the  keeper's 
gibbet. 

It  is  his  pig-like  taste  for  carrion  which 
gets  the  hedgehog  into  no  end  of  trouble, 
and  earns  him  a  bad  character  with  those  who 
do  not  take  the  trouble  to  find  out  if  the  meat 
that  he  eats  is  of  his  own  killing  or  was  slain  for 
him  by  some  quicker  and  more  nimble  animal. 
Another  thing  is  that  the  hedgehog's  teeth  are 
not  fitted  for  holding  and  killing  big  and  active 
creatures.  The  canines — the  big  long  teeth 
placed  near  the  front  of  the  mouth  and  of 
which  you  can  see  very  good  examples  if  you 
open  the  jaws  of  a  dog  or  a  cat— are  too  small 
in  his  case  to  give  him  a  really  good  grip,  though 
excellent  for  chewing.  The  result  is  that 
he  will  go  anywhere  for  carrion,  and  many  a 
hedgehog  has  met  its  fate  by  wandering  into  a 
trap  baited  with  meat.  The  question  of  what 
this  animal  will  and  will  not  eat  has  been  the 
subject  of  a  good  deal  of  argument  between 
naturalists,  some  saying  that  it  is  very  fond 
of  eggs  and  hunts  for  those  of  the  birds  that 
make  their  nests  upon  the  ground.  I  can 
only  say  that  I  have  put  eggs  into  the  cage  of 
a  captive  hedgehog,  given  it  nothing  else  to 
eat,  and  left  it  for  the  night,  yet  the  eggs  were 
222 


THE  HEDGEHOG 

not  touched.     The  result  was  the  same  when 
I  tried  the  experiment  again.     All  the  same, 
I  can  quite  believe  that  if  a  hedgehog  found  out 
eggs  were  good  to  eat  it  would  not  waste  its 
chances  when  it  came  across  any,  yet  it  is 
evident  that  by  no  means  every  one  is  an  egg- 
eater.     Again,  many  people  say  that  it  is  very 
fond   of  little   birds.     Certainly   I  would  not 
like  to  trust  one  with  a  nestful  of  naked  baby 
willow  wrens  in  front  of  it,  but  it  would  have 
to  be  a  very  nimble  urchin  that  could  catch  and 
eat  lively  pheasant  or  partridge  chicks.     Like- 
wise if  it  found  some  very  young  and  helpless 
rabbits  in  a  hole  it  would  hardly  pass  them  by, 
but  as  a  rule  the  mother  rabbit  covers  up  the 
mouth  of  the  nursery  with  earth,  padding  and 
stamping  it  down  with  her  feet  so  that  strangers 
shall  not  get  in  while  she  is  away,  and  by  the 
time  the  hedgehog  meets  the  young  rabbits 
they    can    run    many    times    faster    than    it. 
Of  course  it  must  never  be  forgotten  when 
dealing  with  animals  that  they  are  just  like  us 
— no  two  are  exactly  alike.     One  will  do  one 
thing,    one    another.     Some    people    are   very 
curious,  and  will  do  things  their  friends  would 
not  dream  of  doing.     It  is  the  same  with  wild 
creatures ;  there  are  eccentric  animals  which  do 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

unexpected  things,  in  every  species  there 
occur  individuals  whose  habits  and  conduct 
are  not  those  of  their  fellows,  and  very  often  it 
is  these  that  earn  a  bad  name  for  their  kind. 
It  is  so  with  the  hedgehog.  People  will  tell 
you  that  it  kills  fowls,  rabbits,  sucks  eggs,  and 
so  on.  There  is  even  a  tale  in  some  parts  of 
the  country  that  at  night  the  hedgehog  goes 
up  to  the  cows  as  they  lie  sleeping  in  the 
meadows  and  sucks  the  milk !  How  such  a 
thing  could  ever  be  believed  I  cannot  under- 
stand. You  have  only  to  look  at  the  sharp  little 
pin-pointed  teeth  with  which  the  hedgehog  is 
armed  to  know  it  is  impossible,  for  no  cow 
would  ever  endure  those  sharp  points  pulling 
at  her  teats.  Besides,  how  could  a  hedgehog 
learn  about  milking  cows  !  Very  likely  the 
silly  story  has  originated  from  the  fact  that 
where  there  are  many  cattle  there  are  usually 
lots  of  insects ;  the  '  cow-pats  '  attract  numbers 
of  dung-beetles,  which  of  all  things  are  what 
the  urchin  likes  best,  and  such  a  spot  will 
provide  it  with  an  excellent  night's  hunting, 
nosing  about,  turning  over  the  manure,  and 
finding  the  insects  and  their  fat  white  grubs. 
If  a  person  who  knew  nothing  of  hedgehogs  and 
their  ways  saw  it  busy  in  this  manner,  that 
224 


THE  HEDGEHOG 

person  might  conclude  it  was  up  to  no  good, 
might  think  it  was  after  the  milk,  and  thus 
give  rise  to  the  foolish  tale.  It  is  nearly  as 
bad  as  the  story  which  gives  the  nightjar,  or 
goat-sucker,  its  name.  The  bird,  which  flies 
about  hunting  moths  in  an  evening,  has  a  very 
wide  beak  to  enable  it  to  catch  the  insects,  so, 
in  parts  of  the  country  where  there  are  goats, 
the  country  people  imagine  that  broad  gape 
must  be  for  the  purpose  of  sucking  the  goats, 
and  so  '  goat-sucker '  it  is  called  ! 

Another  tale  that  is  sometimes  told  about 
the  hedgehog  is  that  it  will  steal  apples,  sticking 
them  on  its  spines,  and  going  home  to  its  den 
with  apples  all  over  it !  The  persons  who  tell 
such  stories  forget,  or  rather  do  not  know  that 
this  animal  is  no  fruit  eater,  that  under  no 
circumstances  will  it  eat  anything  of  the  sort, 
and  that  rather  than  touch  an  apple  it  would 
starve  to  death.  How  it  is  supposed  to  put 
the  apples  on  its  spines  I  do  not  know ;  perhaps 
it  is  thought  to  roll  about  among  the  fallen 
apples  under  the  apple-trees  until  it  has  a 
full  load  ! 

On  account  of  its  imaginary  crimes  the 
hedgehog  has  always  had  a  bad  time,  and  in 
olden  days  the  churchwardens  of  the  different 

p  225 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

parishes  included  it  among  the  vermin  for  the 
killing  of  which  they  offered  rewards.  As 
much  as  twopence  and  even  fourpence  each  was 
paid  for  urchins.  Yet  any  one  who  will  take 
the  trouble  to  go  out  on  a  summer  evening  to 
any  spot  where  he  thinks  there  are  hedgehogs, 
and  wait,  and  watch,  for  a  bit,  will  see  for 
himself  what  useful  creatures  they  really  are. 
As  long  as  you  keep  quite  still  the  animal  will 
not  see  you,  for  its  eyesight  is  not  good, 
and  when  intent  on  hunting  and  ground 
scents  it  takes  no  notice  of  a  person.  One 
evening,  about  8.30,  I  met  a  hedgehog  just 
starting  out  on  its  night's  ramble.  It  did  not 
see  me  and  walked  on  towards  me,  turning 
aside  to  nose  first  in  one  hollow  and  then  in 
another.  It  was  noticeable  how  poor  its 
sight  was,  for  it  showed  no  sign  of  knowing  of 
my  presence  until  only  a  yard  off.  Then  it 
stopped  and  listened  intently,  its  spines  began 
to  rise  along  its  back,  and  its  sharp  nose  slowly 
sank  between  its  paws,  being  the  first  steps  in 
preparation  for  rolling  up.  However  I  kept 
quite  still,  and  at  the  end  of  three  minutes 
it  raised  its  head,  licked  its  lips  thrice 
with  its  red  tongue,  turned  round,  and  began 
to  hunt  again.  It  was  just  like  a  little  pig, 

226 


THE  HEDGEHOG 

rooting  here,  nosing  there,  champing  up  first 
one  morsel  and  then  another.  Suddenly  I 
felt  I  must  sneeze,  do  what  I  would  I  should 
have  to,  and  like  all  suppressed  sneezes  it  came 
out  with  a  dreadful  explosion.  I  expected  to 
see  the  hog  rolled  up  into  a  spiny  ball,  but, 
though  the  spines  along  its  back  rose  in 
response  to  the  noise  for  a  moment,  they  soon 
went  down  again,  and  it  went  on  hunting  as 
before.  Neither  sight  nor  sound  seriously 
frightened  it,  but  the  matter  was  different  when 
I  moved  on :  it  curled  up  promptly,  showing  that 
it  felt  the  thumps  of  the  footsteps  in  an  instant. 
The  home  and  living  place  of  the  hedgehog 
is  generally  down  a  disused  rabbit  hole  in  some 
dry  hedge  bank,  but  a  crevice  between  stones, 
a  cavity  under  an  old  tree  stump,  or  a  crack  in 
a  wall  will  serve  it  equally  well  if  roomy  enough, 
dry,  and  warm.  Here  it  makes  its  bed,  carry- 
ing in  quantities  of  grass,  leaves,  and  moss. 
I  have  watched  a  hedgehog  making  its  nest. 
It  collected  mouthful  after  mouthful  of  leaves, 
carrying  them,  with  its  head  rather  high  in  the 
air,  down  a  hole  near  at  hand,  and  soon  coming 
out  again  for  more.  It  went  on,  journeying 
backwards  and  forwards,  until  it  must  have 
taken  quite  a  lot  of  bedding  in.  It  is,  indeed, 

227 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

wonderful  how  much  stuff  hedgehogs  will  ac- 
cumulate in  their  holes,  but  it  is  not  advisable 
to  examine  the  lining  too  carefully  as  it  is 
generally  full  of  fleas  !  It  must  be  owned  that 
though  this  creature  has  many  good  points, 
cleanliness  is  not  one  of  them,  and  it  is  usually 
swarming  with  exceedingly  large  and  active 
fleas,  which  are  a  special  kind  peculiar  to  itself. 
When  curled  up  in  its  snug  bed  an  urchin  will 
often  get  some  of  the  dry  withered  leaves  stuck 
on  its  prickles.  I  have  seen  them  walking  about 
decorated  in  this  way,  but  of  course  it  is  only  an 
accident,  yet  it  has  been  said  that  the  hedgehog 
purposely  rolls  itself  about  in  loose  leaves,  so 
as  to  get  a  covering  to  keep  out  the  cold  ! 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  when  it  is  really  cold 
the  animal  does  not  venture  out.  It  is  one 
of  those  creatures  which  hibernate,  or  sleep, 
during  the  winter.  The  very  fact  of  this 
proves  that  it  is  really  an  insect  eater,  and  that 
meat  is  only  eaten  when  accident  throws  it  in 
its  way.  During  the  summer,  when  insects 
and  grubs  of  all  sorts  are  exceedingly  plentiful, 
it  waxes  fat.  Night  after  night  it  gorges  itself 
with  more  good  things  than  it  really  wants, 
the  unneeded  food  being  stored  away  in  its 
body  in  the  shape  of  fat.  Masses  of  fat 
228 


THE  HEDGEHOG 

accumulate  until  the  autumn,  when  its  weight 
will  have  increased  by  as  much  as  a  pound 
(one  and  a  half  pounds  is  about  the  average 
early  summer  weight),  so  that  it  is  at  the 
beginning  of  the  winter  nearly  twice  as  heavy 
as  in  the  spring.  With  this  reserve  in  hand 
the  hedgehog  prepares  its  winter  nest,  carrying 
into  the  hole  extra  grass  and  leaves,  and  getting 
ready  to  face  happily  the  very  hardest  weather. 
As  soon  as  its  food  gets  short,  when  the 
nights  have  become  cold  and  chilly,  few  or  no 
insects  being  abroad  on  the  frosty  grass,  it 
drops  its  nose  between  its  paws — having  first 
drawn  the  bedding  around  it — curls  up,  and 
sleeps  soundly  for  weeks  on  end.  A  warm 
day  or  two  will  wake  it  and  bring  it  out  to  see 
what  can  be  found,  but  as  the  late  autumn 
merges  into  winter  its  sleep  becomes  sounder 
and  sounder,  it  has  become  cold  and  lifeless, 
and  so  the  time  passes  by  until  the  warm  spring 
comes,  sending  the  life  coursing  through  its 
veins  again,  and  waking  it  up,  to  come  forth 
lean  and  thin,  all  its  plumpness  gone,  to  search 
for  food  once  more. 

There  is  one  most  curious  thing  about  the 
winter  sleep  of  the  hedgehog,  and  that  is  the 
change  which  takes  place  in  its  blood.  In 

229 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

blood  there  are  two  kinds  of  minute  organisms, 
the  one  red,  called  the  red  corpuscles,  which 
give  the  crimson  colour  we  know  so  well,  and 
the  other  white,  and  known  as  the  white 
corpuscles.  These  latter  act  like  soldiers  and 
defend  the  body  from  germs.  They  fall  upon 
the  invaders  and  practically  speaking  eat  them 
up.  All  day  and  every  day  the  fight  goes  on ; 
when  we  are  ill  the  defending  army  has  got  the 
worst  of  it,  when  we  get  better  it  has  conquered. 
These  corpuscles  are  exceedingly  tiny,  and  at 
ordinary  times  there  will  be  as  many  as  eighteen 
thousand  to  twenty  thousand  per  cubic  milli- 
metre (a  millimetre  is  the  twenty- fifth  of  an 
inch)  in  the  blood  of  a  hedgehog.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  hibernation  a  great  change  takes 
place  —  only  about  one  thousand  to  three 
thousand  white  corpuscles  remain  per  cubic 
millimetre ;  they  have  invaded  the  tissues  of 
the  stomach,  there  to  destroy  the  bacteria  of 
purification  that  have  been  brought  in  with 
its  food,  which  otherwise  could  pass  into  the 
blood  and  destroy  the  animal.  As  soon  as  this 
work  is  done  they  are  absorbed  and  disappear. 
In  the  meantime  the  blood  has  been  reacquir- 
ing  its  normal  number  of  corpuscles.1 

1  G.  E.  H.  Barrett-Hamilton,  A  History  of  British  Mammals,  p.  65. 
280 


THE  HEDGEHOG 

Soon  after  the  renewal  of  activity  in  the 
spring,  hedgehogs  begin  to  think  of  family 
affairs,  and  the  males  are  said  to  be  very 
quarrelsome  at  this  time,  but  somewhat  afraid 
of  each  other's  spines.  Two  were  watched 
walking  round  each  other,  nose  to  nose,  but 
unable  to  get  a  grip,  which  circling  they  con- 
tinued for  twenty  minutes,  when  at  last 
'  each  had  hold  of  the  other  by  a  fore  paw, 
and  was  shaking  it  as  a  terrier  does  a  rat, 
puffing  and  blowing  with  the  exertion.  Some- 
times one  was  uppermost,  sometimes  the  other.' l 
I  have  never  had  the  luck  to  see  such  a  battle, 
and  all  those  that  I  have  kept  together  in 
captivity  have  behaved  very  well,  not  being 
in  the  least  quarrelsome  or  bad-tempered. 
Once  I  put  an  old  female  hedgehog  in  a  box 
with  some  young  ones  that  had  been  brought 
to  me  from  a  spot  fully  a  mile  away  from  that 
where  the  old  one  had  been  found,  so  she  could 
not  have  been  their  mother,  yet  when  in  the 
evening  I  went  quietly  up  to  the  box  to  feed 
them,  I  saw  that  I  had  indeed  a  '  happy  family.' 
The  old  hedgehog  was  stretched  out  on  her 
side,  and  the  four  young  ones  were  lying  in  a 
row  sucking  away  like  little  pigs  at  an  old  sow. 

1  R.  Service,  Ann.  Scott.  Nat.  History,  1901,  pp.  232-3. 

231 


\ 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

They  were  having  such  a  hearty  meal  that  I 
drew  back  without  disturbing  them.  I  fancy 
the  explanation  must  have  been  that  the  old 
hedgehog  had  a  family  of  her  own  somewhere, 
and  finding  herself  without  them  adopted  these 
motherless  ones  in  their  place.  At  any  rate, 
I  returned  them  all,  as  soon  as  I  could,  to  the 
hedgerow  where  the  old  one  had  come  from, 
and  have  often  wondered  what  happened  to 
the  family. 

Baby  hedgehogs  are  about  two  and  a  half 
inches  long  when  born,  blind  and  feeble,  but 
already  covered  with  spines.  At  this  early 
age  the  spines  are  white  and  quite  soft,  and 
contrast  oddly  with  their  pale  blue-grey  skin. 
They  rapidly  darken,  the  skin  becoming  grey, 
and  the  spines  hardening  and  deepening  in 
tint.  At  first  their  little  ears  hang  forward, 
nor  are  they  able  to  contract  into  a  ball, 
though  when  touched  they  try  to  do  so,  but 
only  succeed  in  drawing  down  the  skin  of 
their  foreheads  towards  their  snouts.  It  is 
very  difficult  to  keep  little  hedgehogs  alive 
and  well  in  captivity,  as  the  mother  dislikes 
being  interfered  with,  and  as  often  as  not 
turns  cannibal  and  eats  her  own  babies.  I 
had  a  family  brought  to  me  that  had  been 

232 


THE  HEDGEHOG 

found  in  a  mowing  field.  Apparently  the  old 
4  urchin  '  had  made  the  nursery  under  some 
rubbish,  an  unusual  site,  for  the  mother 
generally  gathers  a  quantity  of  leaves  and  grass 
down  the  warmest  and  snuggest  rabbit  hole 
that  she  can  find,  evidently  preferring  the 
quiet  and  safety  of  an  underground  nursery. 
At  any  rate  this  hedgehog  thought  differently, 
and  the  men  who  were  cutting  the  hay  heard  a 
faint  peculiar  squeaking,  and  going  to  the  spot 
found,  under  a  heap  of  leaves  and  rubbish,  an 
old  hedgehog  and  three  young  ones  which 
they  brought  to  me.  The  little  things  seemed 
about  a  week  old ;  they  could  not  see  yet,  but 
their  spines  had  hardened,  and  they  could 
crawl  about  a  little.  All  the  time  they  kept 
up  their  curiously  shrill  bird-like  squeaking. 
I  put  the  babies  into  a  small  box  out  of  which 
their  mother  could  climb  easily.  She  was  very 
shy,  curling  up  at  the  least  movement,  but  as 
she  ate  well  that  night,  made  a  nice  nest  for 
the  family,  and  I  found  her  suckling  them  the 
following  morning,  I  hoped  all  would  be  well. 
All  did  go  well  for  five  days,  then  came  the 
tragedy  !  I  thought  the  old  '  urchin  '  had  a 
good  deal  of  trouble  to  get  in  and  out  of  the 
sleeping  box,  so  out  of  consideration  for  her  I 

233 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

broke  the  side  of  it  away,  so  that  she  could 
step  straight  out.  The  young  ones  must  have 
stepped  out  too,  for  in  the  morning  not  a  trace 
of  them  was  left !  I  could  only  imagine  that, 
having  crawled  out  of  their  nursery  and 
wandered  about  until  they  became  cold  and 
unconscious,  their  mother  had  fallen  upon 
them  and  eaten  them.  At  any  rate  there  was 
not  a  trace  of  any  sort  left. 

Older  families  have  done  well  with  me. 
I  had  one  that  consisted  of  a  mother  and  two 
little  ones.  The  latter  were  about  a  quarter 
the  size  of  their  parent,  and  really  very  sweet 
little  creatures.  They  were  quite  old  enough 
to  be  able  to  roll  up  if  they  wanted  to,  but 
they  had  not  yet  learnt  fear,  and  while  their 
mother  would  curl  up  for  nothing  at  all,  they 
never  attempted  to.  They  would  let  me  pick 
them  up,  stroke  their  soft  grey  throats,  and 
seemed  to  enjoy  being  petted.  As  soon  as  they 
were  put  down  they  would  run  to  and  fro  on 
the  grass;  indeed  their  activity  made  it  very 
difficult  to  get  a  good  photograph  of  the  family. 
As  fast  as  one  was  put  in  the  right  place  the 
other  had  run  away,  and  as  for  getting  a  picture 
of  the  two  babies  with  their  mother  unrolled 
it  was  simply  impossible.  However,  the  trouble 
234. 


A   HEDGEHOG   FAMILY 
The  mother  is  rolled  up  and  on  the  defensive 


The  old  Hedgehog  unrolls,  and  the  young  ones  come  to  her  to  be  suckled 
The  latter  are  about  four  weeks  old 


THE  HEDGEHOG 

was  nothing  to  that  I  had  when  I  tried  to  get 
a  picture  of  an  old  hedgehog  and  four  young  ones. 
They  were  perfect  little  demons  !  They  would 
not  stop  still  for  a  second,  and  as  fast  as  you 
brought  one  back  the  other  ran  off,  and  when 
all  four  were  in  front  of  the  camera  their 
parent  was  tightly  rolled  up,  and  there  is  one 
thing  you  cannot  do,  and  that  is  make  a 
hedgehog  which  does  not  choose  to  unroll. 

To  go  back  to  the  hedgehog  that  had  two 
little  ones — I  felt  that  she  treated  me  really 
very  badly,  for  she  would  only  poke  her  nose 
out  at  those  moments  when  I  was  fetching 
back  her  runaway  babies.  At  last  I  got  every- 
thing right,  and  the  old  one  appeared  to  be 
about  to  look  up.  Having  put  in  the  dark 
slide,  I  was  just  going  to  squeeze  the  bulb  and 
release  the  shutter,  when  she  briskly  uncurled, 
toddled  off,  made  straight  for  a  pond  which 
was  but  a  few  steps  away,  and  took  to  the 
water  before  I  could  stop  her,  swimming  boldly 
for  the  other  side. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  hedgehogs  are  remark- 
ably good  swimmers,  and  take  readily  to  the 
water,  not  floating  very  high  in  it,  but  with 
back,  head,  and  nose  above  the  surface.  I 
have  several  times  seen  them  wade  in  and 

235 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

paddle  off  when  there  was  not  the  least  need 
except  that  they  chose  to  swim. 

To  go  back  to  the  subject  of  the  young 
ones,  even  when  of  some  size  they  keep  up 
their  shrill  squeaking.  This  is  quite  different 
from  the  voice  of  the  old  animal,  which,  when 
it  does  give  tongue  at  all,  utters  a  subdued 
grunting  noise.  If  hurt  or  terrified,  the  hedge- 
hog will  sometimes  utter  a  piercing  shriek, 
which  has  been  compared  with  the  wail  of  a 
baby,  but  as  a  rule  it  is  silent.  Hedgehog 
families  are  never  very  large,  three  or  four 
being  the  most  usual  number,  two  being  some- 
times met  with,  five  or  six  being  more  rare. 
The  young  may  be  born  as  early  as  April,  but 
the  majority  come  into  the  world  during  June 
and  July,  and  sometimes  later.  When  an 
early  family  has  been  brought  up  and  got  rid 
of,  the  second  may  be  reared  in  August. 
Round  my  home  the  young  ones  are  chiefly 
found  in  June,  after  the  hay  has  been  cut. 
Then  one  may  see  them  as  the  light  fades  and 
the  dew  falls  following  their  mother  out  to 
hunt  for  grubs  in  the  newly  cut  grass.  It  is 
a  quaint  and  charming  sight  to  watch  two  or 
three  little  '  urchins  '  toddling  to  and  fro,  while 
their  parent  hunts  industriously  between  the 

286 


THE  HEDGEHOG 

stems.  What  a  delight  they  seem  to  take  in 
champing  up  the  grubs  they  find,  chewing 
them  with  noisy  gusto.  If  you  wish  to  have 
a  tame  '  hog '  this  is  the  time  to  get  one, 
when  it  is  old  enough  to  feed  itself,  yet  not 
old  enough  to  have  learnt  fear.  A  most 
interesting  and  charming  pet  it  will  make, 
but  there  are  one  or  two  things  of  which  you 
must  beware— the  first  is  to  give  it  a  good 
dusting  of  insect  powder  so  as  to  get  rid  of  the 
undesirable  '  company  '  of  which  it  is  sure  to 
have  plenty,  and  the  other  is  to  see  it  is  well 
and  properly  fed.  It  is  no  good  giving  a 
creature,  whose  natural  food  is  insects  and 
carrion,  only  bread  and  milk  to  eat,  nor  is  it 
any  good  turning  it  loose  in  a  black-beetle 
haunted  kitchen  and  expecting  it  to  fend  for 
itself.  In  either  case  the  end  will  be  a  speedy 
death.  The  hedgehog  must  be  well  fed;  it 
may  be  given  bits  of  flesh,  mice,  and  rats  (the 
latter  may  want  cutting  open),  earth-worms, 
and  bread  and  milk,  or  soaked  dog  biscuit,  now 
and  again.  It  should  always  have  clean  water 
where  it  can  drink  whenever  it  needs,  and  the 
more  grub-hunting  it  can  do  for  itself  the  better. 
It  should  have  a  good  bed  of  hay  or  leaves, 
particularly  in  the  winter,  when  it  must  not 

237 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

be  disturbed,  though  food  should  be  handy, 
so  that  if  it  does  wake  up  it  may  find  something 
ready  for  it.  When  thus  well  treated  it  will 
get  very  tame,  allowing  itself  to  be  handled 
without  ever  rolling  up,  eating  readily  from 
the  hand,  and  letting  you  watch  all  its  quaint 
little  ways  without  fear  or  nervousness. 

(Note. — The  Hedgehog,  Erinaceus  europceus,  is 
found  throughout  Europe,  including  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland.  Three  sub-species  have  been  described 
from  Southern  Europe,  but  the  species  shows  no 
variation  in  the  British  Isles.) 


238 


CHAPTER  XI 

THREE  COMMON   REPTILES 

THE  slowworm  or  blindworm  is  one  of  our 
commonest  reptiles ;  it  may  be  met  with  wher- 
ever there  is  long  grass  and  thick  undergrowth, 
and  sometimes  ventures  out  into  the  open  to 
sun  itself.  In  the  garden  round  my  home 
there  is  a  damp  ditch  where  the  grass  grows 
long  and  rank,  which  is  the  dwelling  place  of 
several  of  these  little  reptiles;  but  one  does 
not  often  see  them,  for  they  are  shy,  nervous 
things,  and  slip  about  unnoticed  between  the 
stems  of  the  grass. 

The  blindworm  looks  like  a  small  snake, 
being  usually  about  twelve  inches  long.  It  is 
a  very  big  one  which  reaches  eighteen  inches  in 
length,  and  anything  over  that  length  is  a 
monster.  It  is  a  light  brown  or  buff  in  colour 
without  markings  or  pattern  of  any  description. 
It  is  important  to  remember  this,  for  the 
blindworm  is  often  mistaken  for  a  snake,  and 
it  is  nothing  of  the  sort,  which  mistake  need 

239 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

never  be  made  if  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  both 
our  common  snakes,  the  grass  snake  and  the 
adder,  are  prettily  patterned  and  marked. 
Many  scores  of  harmless  blindworms  get 
murdered  in  the  belief  that  they  are  vipers. 
When  people  who  know  nothing  of  reptiles  see 
a  small  snake  gliding  away  through  the  grass, 
or  lying  basking  in  the  sun,  they  do  not  stop 
to  find  out  exactly  what  it  is,  but  deal  it  a 
blow  with  a  stick  and  there  and  then  settle 
its  fate.  Such  persons  will  seldom  believe 
that  the  creature  was  quite  harmless,  being 
neither  able  to  bite  nor  sting.  c  We  saw  it 
putting  its  sting  out,'  they  will  tell  you ! 
The  so-called  sting  is  really  the  little  black 
forked  tongue,  which  the  blindworm,  like 
many  real  snakes,  has  a  habit  of  running 
over  things.  It  is  very  difficult  to  make  some 
people  believe  it  is  nothing  more,  for  they  are 
convinced  that  it  is  indeed  a  '  sting.'  I  have 
often  let  blindworms  twist  themselves  round 
my  hands,  their  tongues  in  the  meantime 
flickering  about  my  fingers,  and  those  who  have 
been  looking  on  have  still  remained  uncon- 
vinced, thinking  that  there  was  something 
strange  about  me  so  that  the  '  snakes  '  would 
not  bite  me.  As  a  matter  of  fact  not  only  has 
240 


THREE  COMMON  REPTILES 

the  blindworm  no  sting,  but  it  cannot  bite 
anything  bigger  than  a  very  small  grub  or 
insect.  Besides  which  it  is,  as  I  have  already 
mentioned,  not  a  snake  at  all.  It  is  really  a 
lizard.  A  legless  lizard,  it  is  true,  but  still  a 
lizard.  Once  upon  a  time  in  the  long-gone- by 
ages  it  must  have  had  limbs  like  most  other 
lizards  still  have,  for  when  its  skeleton  is 
examined  the  rudiments  of  legs  can  be  found ; 
however,  these  do  not  show  externally,  and  to 
the  outward  glance  it  is  quite  snake-like. 
Perhaps  legs  were  in  the  way  when  it  was 
wriggling  and  gliding  through  the  under- 
growth; probably  those  blindworms  with  the 
smallest  limbs  were  able  to  slip  out  of  the  way 
when  danger  threatened  quicker  than  the  rest, 
and  in  this  way  those  whose  legs  were  the  least 
would  time  after  time  live  and  prosper,  until 
during  the  long  ages  blindworms  arose  with 
no  legs  at  all,  which,  being  the  best  adapted  for 
gliding  in  and  out  between  thick-growing  plants, 
would  survive  in  greater  numbers  than  those 
that  still  had  limbs,  so  that  soon  the  latter 
would  disappear,  and  leave  the  legless  ones 
to  represent  their  kind. 

Like  real  snakes,  the  blindworm  moves  along 
by   means   of  the   scales   or   plates   that   are 

Q  241 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

arranged  all  down  its  stomach  and  under- 
parts.  They  are  movable,  the  animal  pushing 
itself  forward  by  means  of  them.  By  the  way, 
it  is  darker,  almost  black  beneath,  contrasting 
prettily  with  the  pale  brown  upper  side. 

Why  this  creature  should  have  got  named 
the  c  blindworm  '  I  cannot  imagine,  for  it  has 
a  pair  of  exceedingly  sharp  amber-coloured 
eyes,  that  any  one  might  notice  at  a  glance, 
and  with  which,  moreover,  it  can  see  perfectly 
well.  Its  other  name,  the  *  sZowworm,'  is  just 
as  unsuitable,  for  it  is  far  from  slow,  and  I 
know  to  my  cost  the  pace  one  can  move  and 
how  difficult  it  is  to  catch  it  should  it  get 
away  from  you  into  the  grass.  More  than  once 
has  a  so-called  c  slowworm  '  eluded  me  when 
trying  to  catch  it  among  long  undergrowth — 
it  glides  so  smoothly  and  swiftly  in  and  out 
between  the  stems,  disappearing  at  once  in  a 
quite  mysterious  manner. 

Before  going  further  I  must  give  a  warning, 
and  that  is  to  be  careful  how  you  grab  at,  or 
capture,  a  slowworm,  not  that  there  is  the 
smallest  fear  of  it  hurting  you,  but  you  may 
damage  it  considerably,  probably  getting  quite 
a  fright  yourself,  for  when  pounced  upon,  or 
otherwise  startled,  a  blindworm  immediately 
242 


THREE  COMMON  REPTILES 

throws  off  its  tail.  I  mean  what  I  say  quite 
literally,  for  the  reptile  has  the  power,  by  a 
sudden  contraction  of  certain  muscles,  of 
breaking  off  its  own  tail.  The  severed  part 
begins  at  once  a  weird  dance,  writhing  and 
kicking  on  the  ground.  Of  course  it  is  merely 
muscular  contractions,  such  as  keep  an  eel 
wriggling  long  after  it  is  really  dead.  Never- 
theless the  broken- off  tail  will  move  for  some 
minutes  after  it  has  parted  from  its  owner, 
and  on  being  touched  will  respond  with  further 
kicks.  Even  after  five  or  ten  minutes,  life  of 
a  sort  has  not  quite  fled.  In  one  instance  a 
severed  tail  had  still  a  wriggle  left  in  it  at  the 
end  of  half  an  hour.  In  this  case  I  was  walking 
across  a  meadow  when  my  attention  was 
drawn  to  what  at  first  glimpse  I  took  to  be  a 
small  snake  dancing  in  the  grass,  but  which 
a  second  look  showed  me  to  be  the  tail  of  a 
slow  worm  with  which  its  owner  had  parted. 
The  slowworm  itself  was  nowhere  to  be  seen, 
but  a  kestrel's  feather  lying  on  the  ground  a 
little  way  off  suggested  a  clue  to  the  mystery. 
Probably  the  hawk  had  been  hovering  high 
overhead,  watching  for  any  unwary  mouse 
which  might  come  out  to  feed,  when  it  had  seen 
the  lizard  glide  out  to  sun  itself.  Now  slow- 

248 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

worms  are  appetising  morsels  in  the  opinion  of 
owls,  kestrels,  and  such  birds  as  prey  on  small 
creatures,  so  no  doubt  the  hawk,  after  the 
manner  of  its  kind,  had  dropped  down  from  the 
sky  upon  the  unsuspecting  reptile,  dashing,  or 
rather  falling  upon  it,  and  grabbing  the  first 
part  that  came  handy,  which  happened  to  be 
the  tail.  But  the  slow  worm  was  not  so  helpless 
as  it  looked ;  with  a  wriggle  and  kick  it  would 
be  free,  gliding  off  through  the  grass  before  the 
kestrel  realised  what  had  happened,  and  that  it 
only  held  a  bit  of  worthless  tail.  No  doubt  at 
my  approach  the  bird  had  dropped  this  and 
had  made  off.  As  I  have  said,  the  tail  was  still 
wriggling  when  I  came  up,  and  continued  to  do 
so  for  some  minutes.  Unfortunately  I  could  not 
stop  long  to  watch  it,  but  when  I  came  back 
about  half  an  hour  later  it  was  still  able  to  re- 
spond to  a  poke.  Truly  the  wriggles  were  but 
feeble  ones,  yet  the  muscles  were  still  capable  of 
some  contraction  when  stimulated  by  poking. 

What  a  strange  idea  it  seems;  fancy  being 
able,  wnen  threatened  by  a  foe,  to  throw  off 
such  an  important  part  as  a  tail,  and  slip 
away,  while  it  dances  on  the  ground  and 
occupies  his  attention  ! 

The  loss  is  not  such  a  serious  one  to  the 
244 


THREE  COMMON  REPTILES 

slowworm  as  might  be  imagined,  for  it  can 
grow  another  tail  in  the  place  of  that  which 
has  been  left  behind.  The  new  tail,  it  is  true, 
is  not  so  smooth  and  tapering  as  the  old. 
It  grows  out  as  a  blunt  point  from  the  place 
where  the  old  one  broke  off,  and  you  can 
usually  tell  at  a  glance  a  slowworm  which 
has  met  with  adventures  and  mishaps  and  had 
to  part  with  the  rearmost  portion  of  its  long 
slim  body.  Judging  by  the  numbers  of  these 
reptiles  that  I  have  come  across  which  showed 
signs  of  having  had  to  renew  their  tails,  it 
must  be  a  common,  not  to  say  everyday, 
occurrence  in  slowworm  life  to  cast  off  this 
useful  adjunct. 

The  power  of  casting  off  the  tail  when 
badly  frightened  is  shared  by  other  lizards, 
including  the  pretty  little  common  lizard,  that 
is  so  plentiful  in  many  dry  warm  spots.  I 
once  upon  the  Westmorland  Fells  caught  a 
number  of  these  quick- moving  little  creatures. 
They  darted  to  and  fro,  catching  a  fly  here, 
sunning  themselves  for  a  moment  on  a  stone, 
then  slipping  into  the  crevices  under  the  rocks, 
but  by  a  dint  of  patience  and  poking  under 
the  stones  I  caught  a  good  many  of  them. 
They  were  charming  little  lizards  with  their 

245 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

quick  bird-like  movements  and  bright-eyed 
intelligent  looks.  I  brought  them  home,  and 
eventually  turned  them  all  out  on  an  old 
sunken  wall  in  the  garden.  The  majority  dis- 
appeared, but  one,  which  I  called  Jemimia  (or 
Jimmy  for  short),  could  be  seen  almost  any 
warm  day  basking  in  the  sun.  She  would 
cling  to  a  stone  with  her  sharp-clawed  long- 
toed  feet,  flattening  herself  out  in  the  heat 
until  twice  as  broad  as  usual.  Alas  !  one  day 
something  else  spied  Jimmy  when  enjoying 
her  sun  bath,  and  that  was  the  household  cat. 
Now  puss  generally  brought  anything  she 
caught  to  me,  and  I  regret  to  say  that  the 
offerings  laid  at  my  feet  varied  from  rabbits 
down  to  smaller  and  more  excusable  game. 
This  time  she  arrived  with  what  at  first  glance 
I  took  to  be  a  small  frog  kicking  in  her  mouth, 
but  which  turned  out  to  be  Jemimia  minus 
her  tail.  The  cat  had  pounced  on  the  poor 
little  lizard  and  in  her  fright  the  victim  had 
shed  her  tail.  I  rescued  Jimmy,  and  returned 
her  to  the  wall,  a  bob-tailed  lizard  that  had 
at  the  same  time  lost  the  greater  part  of  her 
good  looks.  Whether  she  grew  another  tail  or 
not  I  never  knew,  as  she  disappeared  shortly 
after,  having  no  doubt  gone  into  hiding  for  the 
246 


THREE  COMMON  REPTILES 

winter,  for  lizards,  including  the  slowworm, 
bury  themselves  as  deep  as  they  can  and  pass 
the  winter  in  a  long  sound  sleep.  I  looked 
along  the  old  wall  for  her  the  next  spring,  but 
I  never  saw  Jimmy  again. 

Lizards  (which  includes  the  slowworm)  live  on 
small  grubs,  insects,  and  worms,  the  common 
lizard    being    particularly    clever   at    catching 
flies ;  spiders  too  are  pounced  upon  and  eaten 
in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell.     It  was  most 
amusing  to  drop  some  flies  in  front  of  Jimmy, 
and  watch  her  cock  her  head  on  one  side  and 
fix  her  sharp  little  eyes  on  one  of  them.     She 
would  take  a  step  or  two  towards  it,  then  dart 
her  head  forwards,  grab  the  fly,  give  it  a  quick 
bite  or  two,  swallow  it,  and  then  wipe  her  head, 
like  a  bird  cleaning  its  beak,  from  side  to  side 
on  the  grass.     Small  worms  were  attacked  in 
the  same  manner,  but  as  they  wriggled  and 
kicked  she  would  often  shake  them  savagely 
like  a  dog  worrying  a  rat.     When  the  worm 
had  been  disposed  of  she  usually  scraped  her 
face  with  her  fore  feet  to  free  it  from  bits, 
and  then  wiped  it  on  the  ground  in  the  bird- 
like  manner  already  described. 

Every  now  and  then  slowworms  and  lizards 
become  dull  and  dirty  looking.     This  is  a  sign 

247 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

that  they  are  about  to  change  their  skins. 
The  old  skin  splits  down  the  head  and  neck  and 
gradually  peels  off,  leaving  the  late  owner 
bright  and  clean  in  its  new  clothes.  I  managed 
to  get  a  photograph  of  Jimmy  when  half-way 
through  the  change,  with  her  old  skin  hanging 
in  shreds  from  her  neck  and  shoulders.  When 
the  last  bit  had  peeled  off  she  looked  quite  a 
different  creature,  for  she  was  now  prettily 
marked  with  green,  brown,  and  greyish  yellow. 
The  common  lizard  varies  very  much ;  no  two 
are  alike,  some  being  very  dark,  others  quite 
light,  some  having  a  good  deal  of  green  about 
them,  others  brown,  yellow,  and  stone  colour. 

The  young  when  first  born  are  practically 
black.  They  are  wee  creatures  rather  more 
than  an  inch  in  length,  and  from  the  first  can 
run  as  fast  as  mice.  The  families  are  quite  large, 
numbering  as  many  as  nine  or  ten.  Jemimia's 
youngsters  were  nine  in  number,  but,  such  being 
the  custom  among  lizards,  she  did  not  worry 
herself  about  them,  leaving  them  to  look  after 
themselves  as  best  they  could.  Little  lizards 
are  quite  independent  from  the  moment  that 
they  come  into  the  world,  and  scamper  off, 
each  on  its  own  account,  to  catch  wee  insects 
and  such  tiny  things  as  they  can  pounce  upon 
248 


THREE  COMMON  REPTILES 

and  hold.  How  active  and  quick  these  baby 
lizards  are  I  only  realised  when  I  tried  to  get 
a  photograph  of  Jimmy  and  her  nine  little  ones. 
I  arranged  some  stones  and  a  piece  of  broken 
stick  in  a  sunshiny  spot,  where  I  thought  they 
might  be  persuaded  to  lie  and  bask  in  the  heat! 
I  little  knew  what  a  task  I  had  set  myself! 
Two  or  three  would  allow  themselves  to  be 
gently  pushed  into  position,  where  they  gradu- 
ally flattened  themselves  out  and  began  to 
absorb  the  warmth,  then  mother  Jimmy  would 
be  quietly  placed  near  them,  whereupon  two 
out  of  the  three  youngsters  promptly  scuttled 
off.  To  cut  a  long  story  short,  after  trying  for 
over  an  hour  and  a  half  I  had  to  give  up  the 
attempt  to  get  all  nine  before  the  camera,  and 
merely  take  a  picture  of  the  old  one  and  five 
babies.  As  fast  as  more  were  added  to  the 
group  others  ran  away,  and  when  the  youngsters 
stopped  for  a  moment  it  was  the  old  lizard  that 
got  restless. 

Little  slowworms  are  also  darker  than  the 
old  ones,  being  coal  black  beneath,  but  some- 
what silvery  on  the  top.  The  slowworm  is 
oviparous,  that  is  to  say  lays  eggs,  but  these 
eggs  hatch  at  once,  the  little  lizard  breaking 
through  the  skinny  covering  and  going  off  at 

249 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

once  about  its  affairs.  The  newly  born  slow- 
worm  is  about  two  and  a  half  inches  long,  but, 
like  the  little  wall  lizards,  is  quite  able  to  take 
care  of  and  look  after  itself,  and  the  old  reptile 
most  probably  never  sees  its  babies  again. 

At  no  age  should  a  slowworm  be  confused 
with  a  true  snake  despite  its  snake-like  appear- 
ance, for,  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  it  is 
usually  quite  plain  without  any  markings, 
whereas  the  real  snakes  are  handsomely 
patterned.  The  only  exception  is  that  some- 
times an  old  male  slowworm  may  have  a  few 
spots  along  its  sides,  but  even  these  should  not 
lead  to  any  mistake.  Another  easily  remem- 
bered difference  is  that  true  snakes  have  no 
eyelids ;  their  eyes  are  always  open  and 
staring,  but  lizards,  and  therefore  the  slow- 
worm,  have  proper  eyelids,  so  that  they  can 
shut  their  eyes,  and  in  dead  specimens  this 
is  particularly  noticeable.  Possibly  it  is  the 
fact  that  this  lizard  can  close  its  eyes  which 
has  given  rise  to  the  extremely  unsuitable  name 
of  *  blindworm.' 

As  the  adder  or  viper  is  usually  only  found 

on  moors  and  on  rough  wild  ground,  we  will 

not  waste  time  and  space  discussing  it  here, 

but  will  go  on  to  the  common  or  grass  snake, 

250 


THREE  COMMON  REPTILES 

which  quite  often  appears  in  gardens  and  round 
houses,  and  is  a  true  snake  and  no  lizard  in 
disguise.     It  is  a  very  pretty  creature,  that  is, 
if  you  are  not  too  prejudiced  to  be  able  to 
see  beauty  in  such  a  thing  as  a  snake,  being 
handsomely    marked    with    dark    patches    on 
fawn-grey  ground,  which  should  not  be  con- 
fused with  the   diamond-shaped  markings  on 
the  adder.     The  head  of  the  common  snake 
also  differs  in  shape  from  that  of  the  latter,  not 
being  so  broad  at  the  base.     In  the  case  of  the 
adder  the  neck  appears  slimmer  and  narrower 
and  the  head  decidedly  broader  behind.     The 
common  or  grass  snake  is  a  perfectly  harm- 
less creature,  never  attempting  to  bite  when 
handled  and  quite  incapable  of  doing  any  harm 
if  it  did  try.     Its  habit  of  running  its  forked 
black  tongue  over  things  that  come  in  its  way 
is  trying  to  nervous   people,  who,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  slowworm,  nearly  always  persist  in 
believing  that  this  is  a  sting.     As  a  matter  of 
fact,   there  is  no  snake  which  stings  in  the 
proper  meaning  of  the  word,  though  there  are 
plenty  in  various  parts  of  the  world  that  can 
inject  poison  into  a  bite,  this  poison  passing 
down   the    hollow   fangs   or   teeth   when   the 
latter  are  pressed  into  a  victim.     Our  common 

251 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

English  grass  snake  has  no  apparatus  of  this 
kind,  but  merely  catches  and  swallows  alive 
the  creatures  it  wishes  to  eat.  It  lives  almost 
entirely  on  frogs,  and  once  a  snake  has  grabbed 
one,  the  unfortunate  frog  has  little  chance  of 
getting  away.  The  snake's  teeth  curve  back- 
wards, so  that  it  is  practically  impossible  for 
it  to  let  go.  Once  it  has  seized  a  frog  and 
begun  to  swallow  it,  that  frog  has  got  to  go  on 
down  its  throat  however  big  it  may  be,  for  the 
curved  teeth  make  it  impossible  for  it  to  come 
up  again.  However,  a  snake  has  an  elastic 
throat,  and  a  very  curious  arrangement  of  its 
jaws  which  enables  it  to  swallow  almost  any- 
thing. The  lower  jaw  is  not  fixed  firmly  to 
the  upper,  but  only  attached  by  very  elastic 
muscles,  so  that  when  the  snake  begins  to 
swallow  an  extra  big  mouthful  its  jaws  become 
unhinged,  they  are  out  of  joint,  and  stretch 
farther  and  farther  apart  as  the  frog  or  mouse 
passes  down.  Once  the  meal  is  safely  stowed 
inside,  the  lower  jaw  slips  back  into  place 
and  into  working  order  ! 

As  the  grass  snake  does  not  worry  to  kill  any 

frog  that  it  may  be  able  to  catch,  but  merely 

swallows   it   straight   away,    the    unfortunate 

victim   passes   into   its   inside   alive.     I   shall 

252 


THREE  COMMON  REPTILES 

never  forget  the  piteous  cry  that  I  heard  a 
frog  give  when  thus  seized  by  a  snake.  It  was 
a  pretty  little  foreign  green  tree  frog,  which, 
as  I  have  mentioned  elsewhere,  had  been  left 
in  the  same  cage  with  a  grass  snake  that  had 
gone  on  '  hunger  strike.'  The  snake  had  not 
eaten  naturally  for  so  long,  that  I  thought  it 
was  quite  safe  for  a  short  time  with  the  frogs, 
but  a  weird  and  heart-rending  cry  made  me 
rush  to  the  cage,  only  to  arrive  too  late  to  do 
more  than  see  the  tips  of  the  poor  frog's  little 
green  hind  toes  disappearing  down  the  snake's 
neck.  It  was  impossible  to  rescue  it,  and  I  only 
hope  that  its  sufferings  were  quickly  ended  by 
the  strong  digestive  acids  of  the  snake's  inside. 
When  a  grass  snake  has  had  a  good  meal,  it 
hides  somewhere  and  sleeps  it  off,  perhaps  not 
coming  out  again  for  a  week,  for  these  creatures 
do  not  eat  very  often.  In  captivity  they  will 
often  refuse  to  feed  altogether,  and  would 
starve  themselves  to  death  if  not  fed  forcibly. 
The  snake  in  question,  which  recovered  its 
appetite  so  suddenly  and  unexpectedly,  had 
been  hunger  striking  for  two  months,  and  I 
had  had  to  feed  it  regularly.  Once  a  week  I 
caught  a  little  frog,  slew  the  poor  mite,  and 
then  with  the  help  of  a  blunt  stick  pushed  the 

258 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

corpse  down  the  unwilling  snake's  neck.  If 
one  was  not  careful  and  did  not  push  the 
food  far  enough,  the  snake  would  try  and 
throw  it  up  again,  and  one  had  also  to  be 
careful  and  not  push  it  too  far  down  and  hurt 
him.  However,  after  the  tragedy  of  the  little 
green  frog  his  appetite  was  all  that  one  could 
wish;  he  gave  no  more  trouble,  but  disposed 
of  a  half-grown  frog  once  or  twice  a  week. 

As  pets  grass  snakes  are  very  nice,  clean, 
and  interesting.  The  only  thing  to  beware  of 
is  that  when  first  caught  they  are  apt  in  their 
fright  to  eject  a  strong  and  evil-smelling  liquid, 
but  they  soon  get  accustomed  to  being  handled, 
indeed  become  quite  tame,  and  then  may  be 
trusted  not  to  do  such  things. 

This  snake  is  generally  found  in  damp  places, 
partly  no  doubt  because  the  frogs  that  it  lives 
upon  like  moisture,  but  also  because  the  snake 
itself  is  fond  of  water.  If  one  is  kept  as  a 
pet  it  should  always  have  a  tin  of  water  at 
hand,  in  which  it  will  probably  lie  half  its 
time,  and  it  will  also  like  a  swim  in  a  tub  or 
tank ;  but  don't  take  it  down  to  the  pond,  for 
it  can  dive  and  swim  so  well  that  you  will  have 
great  trouble  to  catch  it  again. 

The  common  snake  differs  from  the  adder  in 
254 


THREE  COMMON  REPTILES 

another  important  particular,  and  that  is,  it 
lays  eggs,  whereas  the  young  adders  are  born 
as  perfect  little  snakes.  To  hatch  the  eggs 
heat  is  needed,  for  without  warmth  they  will 
never  develop,  so  the  snake,  as  she  does  not 
brood  her  clutch,  has  to  find  some  means  of 
getting  them  hatched.  The  means  usually 
chosen  is  to  bury  them  in  a  heap  of  damp 
decaying  vegetable  matter.  Here  the  decay 
that  is  going  on  causes  considerable  warmth 
to  be  generated,  and  makes  a  splendid  incubator 
for  snakes'  eggs.  But  better  than  any  natural 
heap  of  leaves  out  in  the  woods  and  fields  is  a 
melon-bed,  a  hot- bed,  or  other  heap  of  manure, 
so  many  a  snake  resorts  to  a  garden  to  find  a 
good  nursery  for  her  eggs.  Of  the  risks  she 
runs  at  the  hands  of  the  man  in  charge  of  the 
hot- bed  she  never  thinks,  but,  wriggling  her 
way  in  between  the  layers  of  hot  manure, 
turns  and  twists  until  she  has  made  a  hole 
big  enough  to  contain  from  twenty  to  forty 
skinny  white  eggs,  each  about  half  an  inch  long. 
The  *  shell '  is  quite  soft  like  that  of  the 
4  soft-shelled '  eggs  hens  sometimes  lay,  and 
each  egg  is  attached  by  the  end  to  that  next 
to  it.  If  you  open  one  while  it  is  still  fresh, 
you  will  see  that  it  is  just  like  a  hen's  egg, 

255 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

having  a  yellow  6  yolk '  and  a  quantity  of 
clear  c  white  '  or  albumen  round  it.  No  doubt 
it  would  be  quite  good  to  eat,  but  personally  I 
have  never  felt  tempted  to  try  boiled  snakes' 
eggs  for  breakfast ! 

The  mother  snake,  her  task  finished,  crawls 
out  and  leaves  the  eggs  to  be  hatched  by  the 
warmth  of  the  manure,  and,  provided  no  one 
turns  the  hot-bed  over  in  the  meantime,  they 
soon  begin  to  develop,  so  that  in  two  or  three 
weeks'  time  the  little  snakes  break  through 
their  skinny  covering  by  means  of  a  sharp 
point  at  the  tip  of  the  nose  (which  is  shed  the 
second  day  after  hatching),  and  go  off  out  into 
the  world  each  about  its  own  business. 

Sometimes  a  grass  snake  will  bestow  her 
eggs  in  rather  funny  places,  and  in  one  instance 
the  snake,  not  contented  with  getting  into  a 
nice  warm  manure  heap,  laid  a  number  of 
eggs  inside  a  glass  jam  jar  or  bottle,  that  had 
somehow  or  other  got  thrown  out  in  the  manure. 
The  heap  chancing  to  be  turned  over,  the  eggs 
came  to  light,  and,  owing  to  the  kindness  of 
the  owner  of  the  garden,  the  bottle  and 
its  contents  were  sent  to  me.  As  the  bottle 
was  not  a  very  big  one,  it  seemed  rather  a 
puzzle  how  a  fair-sized  snake  had  managed  to 
256 


THREE  COMMON  REPTILES 

get  in  and  deposit  her  eggs.  At  any  rate,  the 
jar  was  so  full  of  eggs  that  not  another  one 
could  have  been  got  in.  One  of  them  which 
had  been  accidentally  broken  contained  a  half- 
developed  snakelet,  but  others  were  quite  clear. 
Hoping  they  might  yet  develop  into  snakes  I 
buried  the  bottle  in  a  hot-bed,  but  evidently 
they  had  been  too  long  in  the  cold,  for  they 
never  came  to  anything. 

Should  you  chance  to  find  some  snakes'  eggs 
in  your  hot-bed,  vegetable-marrow  heap,  or  in 
some  such  spot,  do  not  forget  that  they  can  be 
only  the  common  grass  snake's  eggs  (for  we 
have  but  two  other  kinds  of  snakes  in  this 
country,  the  adder  and  the  smooth  snake, 
neither  of  which  lay  eggs),  and  that  the  grass 
snake  is  a  perfectly  harmless  creature,  doing  no 
one  any  harm,  so,  instead  of  destroying  them, 
it  will  be  better  to  leave  them  alone  to  hatch 
out  how  and  when  they  choose.  If  you  should 
meet  with  the  old  snake  treat  her  too  with 
respect ;  don't  think  her  ugly  and  horrible  just 
because  she  is  a  snake,  and  then  you  will  see 
that  even  a  snake  is  beautiful  and  interesting, 
as  indeed  are  most  creatures  if  we  look  long 
and  carefully  enough  at  them.  As  for  the  fear 
of  snakes  that  so  many  people  express,  it  is, 

R  257 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

in  the  majority  of  cases,  merely  a  matter  of 
prejudice  and  not  knowing  anything  whatever 
about  the  creatures. 

To  go  back  to  the  wee  baby  snakes ;  they 
live  on  small  things  such  as  insects,  but  they 
have  many  skins  to  shed  before  they  too  begin 
to  hunt  for  manure  heaps  in  which  in  their 
turn  to  hide  eggs.  Snakes,  like  lizards,  and 
indeed  all  reptiles,  change  their  skins  periodically. 
Before  the  old  coat  is  cast  they  are  dull  in  hue, 
slow,  and  sleepy,  but  once  it  has  split  down 
the  neck  and  they  have  wriggled  and  scraped 
it  off,  they  come  out  smarter  and  brighter 
than  ever.  In  the  moult  even  the  skin  over 
the  eyes  is  shed,  for  it  is  indeed  a  complete 
change  in  which  every  part  of  the  covering  is 
removed.  How  old  snakes  live  to  be  is  a  very 
doubtful  question,  but  some  of  them  grow 
to  a  fair  size,  grass  snakes  as  much  as  thirty 
inches  long  having  been  met  with,  though 
eighteen  to  twenty  inches  is  a  more  usual 
length.  Unlike  most  animals,  they  do  not  stop 
growing  at  a  certain  age,  but  can  keep  on 
increasing  in  size  as  long  as  they  live. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  beg  any  boy  or  girl 
who  finds  a  snake  hidden  in  the  cucumber 
frame,  the  vegetable  -  marrow  heap,  or  any 
258 


THREE  COMMON  REPTILES 

other  spot  beloved  by  the  common  snake, 
not  to  start  back  in  alarm,  and  hit  it  with  the 
first  stick  that  comes  handy,  but  to  remember 
that  it  is  only  a  harmless  creature,  unable  to 
defend  itself  or  hurt  any  one.  That  hiss  which 
it  makes  when  startled,  the  way  it  raises  its 
head,  and  the  forked  black  tongue  which 
flickers  to  and  fro,  are  not  signs  of  a  poison- 
ous reptile,  but  merely  the  bluff  with  which 
a  helpless  defenceless  one  tries  to  make  its 
enemies  leave  it  alone. 

(There  are  only  three  species  of  Lizard  in  Great 
Britain,  namely,  the  Slowworm,  Anguis  fragilis, 
the  Common  Lizard,  Lacerta  vivipara,  and  the  Sand 
Lizard,  Lacerta  agilis.  The  latter  is  only  found  in 
certain  districts  where  there  are  sand  hills,  so  has 
not  been  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  account.  OUT 
snakes  are  also  three,  being  the  rare  Smooth  Snake, 
Coronella  austriaca,  which  occurs  in  sandy  districts 
in  company  with  the  Sand  Lizard  upon  which  it  preys ; 
the  Adder,  Viperus  berus,  chiefly  found  in  heathery 
and  moorland  localities ;  and  the  common  Grass 
Snake,  Tropidonotus  natrix,  which  is  often  abundant 
in  our  southern  counties,  but  is  seldom  if  ever  found 
in  Scotland,  while  of  course  it  is  absent  from  Ireland, 
as  no  snake  of  any  kind  is  found  in  that  island.) 


259 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD  VOLE 

THE  short-tailed  field  vole,  or  meadow  mouse 
as  some  people  prefer  to  call  it,  is  one  of  the 
most  plentiful  of  our  smaller  animals.  Wher- 
ever there  is  long  grass  you  will  find  the 
highways  that  it  makes  as  it  runs  to  and  fro 
between  the  stems  of  the  undergrowth.  It 
lives  on  grass  and  literally  eats  out  its  roads 
before  it.  Wherever  there  is  a  colony  of  voles, 
there  will  also  be  found  a  perfect  network  of 
tunnels  running  in  all  directions  through  the 
grass.  Even  without  opening  them  up  you 
can  get  some  idea  of  their  many  twistings  and 
turnings,  for  the  grass  that  has  been  bitten  off 
underneath  shows  brown  and  withered  on  the 
top.  This  yellow  withered  herbage  tells  the 
tale  of  the  roads  that  run  through  the  forest 
of  stems  beneath,  and  that  little  furry  brown 
mice  race  to  and  fro  beneath  its  shelter.  By 
running  your  finger  along  the  highways  and 
parting  the  over-arching  grass  you  will  be  able 
260 


THE  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD  VOLE 

to  see  the  well-used  main  roads,  and  the  side 
lanes,  with  blind  alleys  again  off  them,  which 
are  the  spots  where  the  mice  go  to  feed.  By 
continually  nibbling  the  grass  at  the  end  of 
these  blind  passages  they  extend  their  tunnels, 
and,  as  I  said  before,  eat  out  their  roads  before 
them. 

The  meadow  vole  is  quite  different  from  our 
other  mice ;  it  is  a  small  furry  person  with  its 
ears  buried  in  its  long  coat.  It  has  small  but 
keen  eyes,  a  somewhat  short  head,  a  stumpy 
body,  and  a  mere  scrap  of  a  tail.  In  all 
respects  it  is  the  exact  opposite  of  the  long, 
slender,  large-eyed,  big-eared,  active,  long- 
tailed  field  mouse.  The  mouse  looks  like  a 
gentleman  of  high  degree,  but  the  little  vole 
in  its  rough,  dingy-looking,  brown  coat,  is  but  a 
commonplace  little  fellow.  The  meadow  vole 
has  more,  but  still  not  a  great  deal,  in  common 
with  its  distant  cousin,  the  bank  vole.  How- 
ever, they  are  not  very  alike;  the  bright 
chestnut  colour  of  the  latter  should  at  once 
save  any  confusion  between  the  two  kinds. 
The  creature  that  the  meadow  vole  is  like  is 
the  water  rat  (which  should  be  called  the  water 
vole),  for  it,  too,  is  a  rough  furry  animal,  with 
short  ears  and  a  short  tail,  but  it  is  so  much 

261 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARMN  AND  HEDGEROW 

bigger  than  the  little  field  vole,  which  is  seldom 
more  than  four  and  a  half  inches  from  the  tip  of 
its  nose  to  the  tip  of  its  tail,  and  often  much 
smaller,  that  there  is  no  chance  of  making  a 
mistake  and  taking  one  for  the  other. 

The  vole's  dull  brown  colour,  with  greyish 
under-parts,  matches  well  the  dark  shadowy 
spaces  between  the  grass  stems,  so  that  when 
it  '  freezes '  and  does  not  move  for  two  or 
three  minutes,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  see  it. 
It  simply  melts  into  its  surroundings,  and 
vanishes  until  some  movement  betrays  where 
it  is.  All  this  is  part  of  the  difficult  business 
of  keeping  out  of  sight  of  its  foes — indeed  a 
vole's  life  is  one  long  effort  to  hide  from  its 
enemies,  for  once  seen  its  fate  is  certain. 
Night  and  day  death  stalks  at  its  heels,  the 
brown  owl  and  the  kestrel  prefer  it  to  any  other 
food,  and  the  one  by  night  and  the  other  by  day 
keep  a  keen  watch  for  any  unwary  vole  that 
ventures  for  a  moment  into  the  open.  Many 
other  creatures  also  help  in  the  task  of  keeping 
down  the  numbers  of  the  voles ;  the  barn  owl 
eats  great  numbers,  the  fox  and  badger  do  not 
despise  them,  and  near  the  coast  the  different 
gulls  share  the  work.  The  prowling  cat 
accounts  for  a  good  many,  the  crows,  magpie, 
262 


THE  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD  VOLE 

and  jay  lend  their  help,  the  stoat  catches  a  few, 
and  last  but  not  least  comes  the  weasel,  most 
deadly  foe  of  all. 

From  the  moment  the  baby  vole  leaves  the 
snug  nest  of  shredded  grass  in  which  it  was 
born,  it  begins  a  life  in  which  success  goes  to 
those  who  are  always  '  wide-awake,'  never 
take  chances,  or  leave  anything  to  luck,  and 
in  moments  of  danger  can  best  make  themselves 
invisible.  By  success  I  mean  the  feat  of 
growing  up  and  living  to  rear  a  family,  for 
success  in  Nature  consists  of  rearing  and  sending 
out  into  the  world  more  young  ones  than  your 
neighbour.  There  seems  little  doubt  that  it  is 
by  selection— that  is  to  say,  by  the  killing  off  of 
all  voles  whose  coats  have  been  either  too  light 
or  too  dark  to  hide  well  among  the  grass— that 
the  dull  dark  brown  fur  of  the  meadow  vole 
has  been  produced.  It  is  not  that  it  matches 
either  the  stems  of  the  grass,  or  the  bare  earth, 
but  it  goes  wonderfully  well  with  the  shadowy 
spaces  between  the  plants. 

When  any  sound  is  heard  or  anything  seen 
moving,  a  vole  either  tumbles  headlong  down 
the  nearest  hole,  or  crouches  where  it  is, 
trusting  to  the  over- arching  grass  and  its  own 
invisibleness  to  save  it.  If  the  alarm  was  a 

263 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

false  one  it  will  in  a  few  minutes  sit  up  and 
wash  its  face  (for,  like  so  many  other  mice  and 
voles,  it  is  a  most  clean  and  particular  little 
creature,   and    always   washes    itself    after    a 
fright),  and  then  goes  on  nibbling  once  more. 
It  is  an  enormous  eater,  constantly  nibbling  at 
something,  and,  being  found  from  the  mountain 
tops  to  the  seashore,  can  do  much  damage  when 
its  numbers  get  too  great.     What  it  prefers  is 
the  delicate  white  parts  of  the  grass  stems, 
generally  leaving  the  coarse  green  tops  to  dry 
up    and    afford    shelter   over   the    runs.     The 
alarm  being  over,  the  inhabitants  of  the  holes 
will   come   scuttling   out,  hurrying  along  the 
runs  to  spots  where  the  food  is  good,  where 
the  grass  is  luscious  and  soft,  not  hard  and 
coarse,    and   then  they   set   to   work,    nibble, 
nibble,  nibble  all  the  time.     One  foolish  young 
vole  pushes  its  head  up  and  out  through  the 
covering  grass  so  as  to  get  a  peep  at  the  great 
wide  world  that  lies  so  fair  in  the  sunshine, 
but  it  does  not  see  a  small  black  speck  high  up 
against  the  blue  of  the  sky — indeed  it  has  no 
time !     Down    like    a    thunder-bolt    falls    the 
kestrel,  who  has  been  hovering  up  aloft,  and 
watching  the  meadow  for  some  such  move- 
ment   in    the    grass.     There    is    a    thump,    a 
264 


THE   MEADOW  VOLE,    OR   SHORT-TAILED 

FIELD   MOUSE 

(J  life  size) 


THE  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD  VOLE 

muffled  squeak,  and  off  flies  the  little  falcon 
with  the  vole  in  its  claws.  The  kestrel's  chat- 
tering cry  is  heard,  and  then  silence  sinks 
on  the  colony,  save  for  the  song  of  a  lark 
far  overhead,  which  is  singing  at  a  height  even 
greater  than  that  at  which  the  kestrel  was 
'  waiting  on.'  *• 

However,  fear  does  not  last  long  with  these 
small  creatures ;  they  do  not  waste  time  looking 
for  a  friend  who  has  disappeared,  or  in  wonder- 
ing what  has  happened.  Friends  and  relations 
daily  vanish,  they  go  no  mouse  knows  whither, 
so  they  do  not  worry ;  while  food  is  good  and 
plentiful  it  is  a  case  of  gnaw  and  nibble  and  do 
not  bother.  Young  mice  grow  up  to  take  the 
place  of  the  old,  and  on  the  whole  the  numbers 
of  the  colony  remain  about  the  same. 

The  danger  past,  a  mouse  or  two  sits  up 
and  washes  its  face,  then  they  set  to  work  to 
nibble  more  busily  than  ever.  One  runs  to 
this  blind  alley,  another  to  the  next,  some  sit 
on  the  doorsteps  of  the  holes  and  clean  and 
preen  themselves ;  others,  tired  by  hard  eating 
and  by  the  fright,  go  down  the  holes  and  sleep 
in  warm  beds  made  of  shredded  grass  tucked 

1  { Waiting  on/  a  term  used  in  falconry  when  the  hawk  waits 
and  watches  for  its  prey  to  be  put  up  beneath  it. 

265 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

away  in  private  corners.  One  or  two  of  the 
passages,  which  are  as  many  underground 
as  there  are  highways  on  the  surface,  lead 
to  extra  well-made  nests  that  are  guarded 
by  fussy  old  mother  voles,  who  have  young 
ones  hidden  away  among  the  bedding. 
In  the  early  part  of  the  year  the  nurseries 
are  usually  underground,  hidden  at  the  end 
of  some  passage  where  the  rest  of  the  colony 
do  not  wander,  but  later  in  the  season  they 
are  all  made  above  ground,  a  nest  of  woven 
grass  being  made  somewhere  where  the  herbage 
is  extra  thick  and  gives  good  shelter.  Indeed, 
the  majority  of  young  voles  are  reared  in 
the  open  air,  despite  the  dangers  to  be  met 
with  on  the  surface.  They  may  be  trodden 
on  by  wandering  cattle,  nosed  out  by  the  fox 
or  badger  prowling  round  at  midnight,  or  if 
in  mowing  grass  the  nest  may  be  cut  into  by 
the  mowing-machine,  besides  which  there  is 
the  weasels'  liking  for  tender  young  voles. 
The  weasel  is  by  far  and  away  the  worst  of  all 
the  field  vole's  many  foes — so  small  and  slim 
as  to  be  able  to  slip  down  the  smallest  of 
mouse  holes,  gifted  with  a  wonderful  c  nose  '  so 
that  it  can  follow  the  faintest  of  trails,  dogged 
and  persistent  to  the  last  degree,  there  is  but 
266 


THE  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD  VOLE 

little  hope  for  any  mouse  that  it  once  begins 
to  hunt.  No  matter  how  the  unfortunate 
vole  turns  and  twists,  doubles  and  tries  to 
confuse  its  trail  with  that  of  other  mice,  the 
weasel  will  follow  the  scent  through  all  the 
burrows  and  pathways  until  it  at  last  comes 
up  with  its  victim.  A  weasel's  presence  in 
the  '  runs  '  causes  instant  terror  among  the 
mice  ;  they  rush  frantically  in  all  directions, 
though,  like  a  rabbit  hunted  by  a  stoat,  they 
do  not  go  far  before  they  stop  to  listen  and  see 
whether  the  weasel  is  really  on  their  track  or 
that  of  some  other  vole,  for  if  the  latter  they 
can  slip  quietly  home  again.  But  the  poor 
little  mouse  that  the  weasel  is  really  hunting 
is  doomed— nothing  can  save  it ;  all  it  can  do 
is  to  run  wildly  on,  hoping,  if  it  has  the  wits 
left  to  hope,  that  the  hunter  may  change  to 
the  line  of  some  other  vole,  which  is  a  most 
unlikely  thing  to  happen.  For  no  creature 
knows  better  the  arts  of  the  chase ;  it  is  well 
aware  that  if  it  were  continually  changing,  it 
might  hunt  all  day  and  never  catch  a  mouse, 
so  it  sticks  to  the  first  trail,  puzzling  out  with 
patience  the  places  where  the  scent  is  crossed 
by  trails  of  other  voles,  and  becomes  so  intent 
on  the  hunt  as  to  have  no  eyes,  ears,  or  nose 

267 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

for  anything  else.  In  the  meantime  the 
desperate  vole  will  go  anywhere  and  do  any- 
thing to  try  and  throw  off  the  weasel ;  it  will 
cross  broad  highroads,  dash  across  the  open  in 
front  of  onlookers,  and  even  take  to  the  water 
and  swim  streams  and  ponds.  Once  I  saw  a 
field  vole  dash  across  a  road  almost  under 
the  wheels  of  a  pony  trap.  The  driver 
stopped  the  pony,  and  we  waited  and  watched 
to  see  what  would  happen;  a  second  later  a 
weasel  appeared  running  along  the  fence  at 
the  side  of  the  road,  from  which  it  jumped 
down  into  the  ditch,  hunted  up  and  down  the 
muddy  bottom  for  a  moment,  picked  up  the 
scent,  and  with  its  nose  to  the  ground  sprang 
out  on  to  the  grass  that  edged  the  highway, 
where  it  hesitated  for  a  moment,  cast  itself 
in  a  circle  as  a  huntsman  casts  a  pack  of  fox- 
hounds, recovered  the  line,  and,  paying  no 
more  attention  to  us  than  if  we  had  not  existed, 
bounded  across  the  road  with  that  curious 
light  dancing  movement  peculiar  to  stoats  and 
weasels.  It  disappeared  on  the  farther  side 
into  the  long  uncut  grass  of  the  ditch.  All 
was  still,  not  even  a  grass  blade  quivered,  and 
we  thought  the  hunter  and  hunted  had  gone, 
but  just  as  we  were  moving  away  something 
268 


THE  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD  VOLE 

stirred  in  a  little  gutter  that  carried  the 
water  from  the  road  down  to  the  ditch.  It  was 
the  weasel,  and  it  carried  the  vole  dead  in  its 
mouth.  This  time  it  saw  us,  paused,  sat  up  on 
its  hind  legs,  and  looked  at  us  inquisitively. 
It  turned  back  into  the  ditch,  but,  not  quite 
satisfied,  looked  out  again — still  with  its  victim 
in  its  mouth,  but  the  pony  moved,  and  this 
time  the  weasel  disappeared  for  good.  Prob- 
ably a  few  moments  later,  the  mouse  having 
been  eaten,  it  was  hunting  again,  for  it  not 
only  hunts  for  food,  but  for  sport,  enjoying 
the  chase  for  its  own  sake,  which  is  why  it  is 
such  a  terrible  enemy  to  all  mice. 

Though  hard  luck  on  the  poor  little  voles,  it 
is  really  a  very  good  thing  that  the  weasel, 
the  kestrel,  the  barn  and  the  brown  owl  keep 
such  a  strict  watch  over  them,  for  they  increase 
at  a  great  rate,  the  families  generally  being 
five  or  six  in  number,  but  often  reaching  as 
many  as  nine  or  ten.  In  a  mild  season  the 
young  ones  will  begin  to  arrive  as  early  as 
February,  indeed  they  have  been  found  during 
an  open  winter  even  at  Christmas  time,  and 
the  same  pair  of  parents  will  have  three  or  four 
more  litters  in  the  course  of  the  summer,  so 
that  by  the  autumn  the  one  couple  will  have 

269 


I 

WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

thirty  or  forty  young  ones  !  In  a  good  season, 
that  is  to  say  when  the  weather  is  fine  and 
warm  and  enemies  are  few,  each  pair,  supposing 
they  had  five  families  of  nine  or  ten  apiece, 
would  have  from  forty  to  fifty  little  voles. 
No  wonder  that  under  these  circumstances 
they  increase  until  they  become  a  perfect  plague. 
The  grass  becomes  riddled  with  their  runs, 
all  that  is  good  and  green  is  eaten,  only  brown 
withered  stuff  remains.  Short  of  food,  the  in- 
creasing swarms  stray  into  the  woods,  kitchen 
gardens,  and  wherever  there  is  anything  green 
to  eat,  and  do  great  damage  to  all  sorts  of  plants. 
In  the  meanwhile  the  owls  and  hawks  are 
enjoying  themselves  most  thoroughly,  eating 
mice  all  day  and  every  day  until  so  gorged 
they  cannot  swallow  even  one  more.  Owls 
and  hawks  from  other  districts,  somehow  or 
other  discovering  the  good  things  that  are  to  be 
had,  arrive  to  share  the  feast;  indeed  birds 
of  prey  come  from  all  sides,  and  dogs,  cats,  and 
foxes  gorge  themselves  day  after  day.  Still 
the  mice  increase,  fields  are  gnawed  bare, 
trees  are  barked  in  the  woodlands,  and  the 
damage  done  becomes  so  very  serious  that 
everybody  tries  to  put  a  stop  to  the  plague. 
There  have  been  many  plagues  such  as  described, 
270 


THE  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD  VOLE 

the  last  serious  one  being  that  in  Scotland  in 
1891-92-93— '  the  grazing  lands  of  southern 
Scotland  were  afflicted  to  an  extent  involving 
an  area  of  not  less  than  sixty  miles  by  twelve 
to  twenty.' 1 

The  end  of  these  plagues  is  always  the  same : 
disease  breaks  out  among  the  voles,  they  die  by 
hundreds  and  scores  of  hundreds,  the  birds  of 
prey  that  have  gathered  from  afar  find  food 
growing  scarce  and  depart  for  their  homes, 
and  the  dwindling  mice  get  fewer  and  fewer, 
so  that  at  last  they  are  reduced  not  only  to 
their  usual  numbers  but  far  below. 

Frosty  winters,  when  all  grass  and  green 
food  is  dry  and  frozen,  do  much  towards  keeping 
field  voles  from  getting  too  many.  Snow  they 
do  not  mind,  it  keeps  their  burrows  snug  and 
warm,  and  they  can  tunnel  beneath  it  in  search 
of  food  in  peace  and  safety ;  but  dry  *  black  ' 
frosts  are  much  more  serious  for  them,  and 
after  the  long  hard  winter  of  1916-17  there 
was  not  a  colony  of  voles  to  be  found  about  my 
home.  As  a  rule  there  are  plenty,  even  in  the 
garden,  where  they  have  their  headquarters 
in  a  rough  bank.  This  bank  is  planted  with 
daffodils  and  narcissi,  and  the  grass  is  not  cut 

1  Barrett-Hamilton,,  British  Mammal*,  p.  450. 

271 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

until  the  middle  of  the  summer,  so  the  mice 
have  quite  a  good  time,  and  even  in  the  winter 
there  is  a  good  deal  of  rough  herbage  to  shelter 
them.  By  the  way,  voles  are  not  quite  so 
active  in  the  cold  weather  as  in  the  warm; 
they  do  not  go  into  a  winter  sleep,  they  never 
hibernate,  but  have  to  come  out  and  look  for 
food  whatever  the  weather.  To  go  back  to 
the  voles  in  the  narcissi  bank — though  these 
mice  often  get  the  credit  for  eating  bulbs, 
this  colony  have  never  made  the  least  difference 
to  the  daffodils.  I  have  found  that  what  they 
really  like  is  crocus  bulbs,  but  that  no  variety 
of  daffodils  appeals  to  them  at  all.  I  have 
also  tried  tame  ones  with  snowdrops,  but  they 
would  not  touch  them.  They  would  hardly 
touch  anything  but  green  foods,  grass  being 
their  chief  diet,  varied  by  lettuce,  of  which 
they  were  very  fond,  and  dandelion  leaves, 
which  they  liked  nearly  as  well.  They  would 
also  eat  the  growing  blades  of  wheat,  barley, 
and  oats,  but  the  grain  itself  they  did  not  seem 
to  think  much  of.  Clover  they  liked,  also 
water  cress,  and  they  were  fond  of  dock  seeds. 
Fruit,  especially  apples,  was  much  appreciated, 
strawberries  and  gooseberries  being  by  no 
means  despised,  but  my  voles  had  evidently 
272 


THE  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD  VOLE 

a  liking  for  sweet  things,  as  they  gnawed 
greedily  at  a  lump  of  sugar  that  I  dropped 
into  their  cage,  also  licking  up  jam  and  honey. 
Once  I  saw  one  catch  and  eat  a  fly  that  had 
ventured  into  the  cage,  and  the  same  mouse 
ate  another  that  I  caught  and  put  before  it. 
Small  earth-worms  were  always  attacked,  so 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  a  wild  state  the 
field  vole  eats  a  good  many  insects  and  grubs. 
Like  many  other  small  animals  it  is  certainly 
not  above  tasting  flesh  if  it  chances  across  a 
corpse,  and,  as  I  shall  have  presently  to  de- 
scribe, will  even  sometimes  eat  its  own  friends 
and  relations ! 

Though  I  have  given  quite  a  long  list  of 
things  which  I  have  found  that  voles  will  eat, 
there  is  hardly  anything  which  they  are  suffi- 
cently  fond  of  to  be  any  use  as  a  bait  for 
trapping  them.  Cheese  does  not  attract  them, 
and  they  are  the  most  difficult  of  all  small 
creatures  to  catch.  The  only  bait  that  I  have 
found  any  good  at  all  is  a  split  yellow  crocus 
bulb.  Even  then  I  am  not  sure  if  luck  has  not 
more  to  do  with  the  voles  being  caught  than 
anything  else.  Indeed  I  quite  believe  that  an 
unbaited  trap  set  in  a  vole's  run  is  just  as 
likely  to  catch  one  as  a  baited ! 

s  273 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

This  being  so,  it  may  be  asked  how  I  managed 
to  get  the  mice  which  I  kept  for  some  time  to 
watch  and  study.  One  I  disturbed  when  walking 
through  some  long  grass,  pounced  on  it,  and 
managed  to  grab  it,  carrying  it  home  in  my 
pocket-handkerchief,  the  vole  in  the  meantime 
amusing  itself  by  nibbling  holes  in  the  hand- 
kerchief, so  that  never  again  was  it  any  use. 
The    second    had    made    itself    a    warm    and 
comfortable  bed  under  a  cock  of  hay,  in  which 
nest  it  was  no  doubt  sleeping  happily  when  a 
pickle  was  thrust  into  the  hay  and  its  covering 
rudely  torn  off  it.     I  was  standing  by,  and  as 
the  man  raised  the  cock  I  saw  the  startled 
mouse    run    away.     Before    it    had    time    to 
recover  its  wits  I  had  grabbed  it  and,  despite 
the  fact  it  began  to  use  its  small  but  sharp 
yellow  teeth   on  my  fingers,  kept  hold  of  it 
until  it  was  put  safely  into  a  pocket,  therein 
to  be   carried  to  join  the   other  vole   in   its 
cage    in   the    sitting-room.     The    first   comer, 
instead   of  being   pleased   to   have   company, 
greeted    it    with    angry    squeaks.     Rising    on 
their  hind  legs  they  glared  at  each  other ;  they 
thrust  with  their  little  paws,  they  boxed,  and 
revolved  round  each  other  in  furious  combat, 
their  abusive   squeaks  continuing  the   while, 
274 


THE  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD  VOLE 

and,  though  they  were  both  females,  I  fear  the 
language  was  most  unladylike.  Presently  they 
retreated  to  opposite  corners  and  there  washed 
their  faces.  Again  they  came  out,  and  once 
more  danced  squeaking  round  each  other ;  but 
the  fighting  did  not  last  so  long  this  time,  and 
a  longer  interval  of  peace  succeeded.  At  last 
they  settled  down,  and  before  night  were  sleep- 
ing happily  together  in  the  same  bed. 

Apparently  what  happens  in  a  wild  state  is 
that  in  the  spring  time  a  pair  of  mice  will  go 
off  by  themselves,  make  a  nest  in  some  snug 
corner,  and  from  it,  as  headquarters,  begin 
to  tunnel  in  all  directions.  As  their  families 
grow  up  the  party  gets  larger  and  larger,  for 
they  are  good-natured  creatures  with  those  they 
know,  and  the  old  ones  do  not  turn  the  young 
out  into  the  world.  By  the  end  of  the  summer, 
what  in  the  spring  had  been  a  solitary  couple 
founding  a  colony  has  now  become  a  large 
and  well-populated  settlement,  of  which  all  the 
members  are  related  to  one  another.  They 
know  each  other  and  are  on  the  best  of  good 
terms,  but  woe  to  the  stranger  from  another  clan 
that  ventures  into  their  highways  and  byways, 
for  he  will  soon  be  bundled  out  neck  and  crop, 
if  he  suffers  nothing  worse  at  their  hands. 

275 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

The  third  vole  was  a  big  buck,  and  of  the 
way  I  came  by  him  I  am  rather  ashamed,  for 
he  was  turned  out  of  house  and  home  by 
decidedly  unfair  means.  Down  by  the  pond 
in  the  garden  was  a  system  of  vole  runs,  at 
which  my  brother  and  I  were  looking  one  day. 
There  was  a  hole  going  apparently  straight 
down  into  the  ground,  and  my  brother,  who 
had  the  watering-can  in  his  hand,  looked  at 
me  and  said,  c  Just  a  little  water  and  the  mouse 
would  have  to  come  out.'  6  It  seems  a  mean 
thing  to  do  ! '  I  answered  weakly,  as  a  steady 
stream  of  water  poured  down  into  its  strong- 
hold. There  was  a  gurgling  sound,  something 
was  coming  up  the  hole,  and  a  moment  later  a 
large  meadow  vole  shot  out  of  it  like  a  Jack- 
in-the-box.  He  came  out  with  such  a  jump 
that  he  sprang  straight  into  the  pond.  Already 
half-drowned  by  the  water  in  the  hole  he  did 
not  swim  as  well  as  he  would  otherwise  have 
done,  but  a  butterfly  net  was  near,  and  with 
it  he  was  soon  rescued.  However,  the  cold  and 
wet  had  cramped  him  so  that  I  rushed  off  with 
him  to  the  kitchen  fire,  and  holding  him  before 
the  blaze  awaited  results.  In  a  minute  or  two 
he  evidently  felt  better,  for  he  sat  up  and  began 
to  lick  himself  and  put  his  fur  in  order.  Then 
276 


THE  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD  VOLE 

he  squeaked  when  I  moved  my  fingers,  giving 
me,  when  I  put  my  hand  over  him,  such  a  sharp 
nip  that  I  nearly  dropped  the  old  fellow. 
As  he  seemed  quite  recovered  I  took  him  to  the 
cage  and  put  him  in  with  the  two  females.  It 
was  evident  that  he  was  now  quite  all  right, 
for  when  they  popped  out  of  their  nest  to  see 
who  was  coming  he  not  only  squeaked  at 
them,  but  boxed  their  ears  in  turn.  They  did 
the  same  for  him,  after  which  greetings  they 
behaved  more  civilly  to  one  another,  and 
presently  I  saw  him  go  home  to  the  nest  with 
them.  Though  this  particular  old  male  was  a 
very  fine  mouse,  it  is  not  always  the  males 
which  are  the  biggest;  some  of  the  females 
grow  to  a  large  size.  Meadow  voles  vary  a 
good  deal,  some  being  much  bigger  than  others, 
and  I  believe  they  go  on  growing  until  quite 
old,  at  any  rate,  until  after  they  have  brought 
up  a  family  or  two. 

My  three  voles  soon  settled  down  and  made 
themselves  at  home.  They  ate  surprisingly, 
grass  and  lettuce  leaves  disappearing  at  a  great 
pace ;  indeed  they  seemed  to  spend  their^ whole 
time  nibbling  at  something  or  other.  Their 
method  of  eating  always  interested  me,  for 
the  blade  of  grass  was  cut  off  with  the  teeth, 

277 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

held  in  the  mouth,  and,  the  vole  having  sat  up 
on  its  hind  legs,  then  transferred  it  to  the 
hand-like  fore  paws,  when  it  was  a  matter  of 
nibble,  nibble,  nibble,  until  the  grass  had  gone. 
I  never  saw  one  of  these  voles  eat  in  any  other 
attitude,  and  the  way  they  did  it  always  made 
me  think  of  a  person  eating  celery.  They 
were  just  as  particular  about  the  care  of  their 
fur  as  the  more  dainty-looking,  long-tailed 
field  mice,  washing  themselves  frequently,  and 
always  after  being  startled.  They  would  sit 
up  on  their  hind  legs,  and  licking  their  '  hands  ' 
pass  them  quickly  over  head  and  ears,  then 
turn  to  their  body,  and  dress  every  scrap  of  fur. 
They  might  not  be  so  sleek  and  smooth-look- 
ing as  the  mice  just  mentioned,  but  still  they 
were  very  dainty  fascinating  small  creatures. 
They  got  quite  tame,  and  took  no  notice  what- 
ever of  things  which  moved  on  their  own  level. 
For  instance,  if  I  tapped  on  the  glass  side  of  the 
cage,  any  vole  that  was  out  eating  would 
barely  trouble  to  turn  its  head  to  see  what  the 
noise  was,  yet  if  so  much  as  a  shadow  moved 
overhead,  that  same  mouse  would  be  gone  in  a 
flash.  It  was  evident  that  they  regarded  the 
worst  dangers  as  coming  from  above.  Time 
after  time  I  tested  them,  and  it  was  always 
278 


THE  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD  VOLE 

the  same  result— anything  on  the  ground  level 
did  not  matter,  but  that  which  was  overhead 
was  to  be  feared.  Though  tame  in  the  sense 
that  they  were  not  afraid  of  one's  hand,  did 
not  run  away,  and  would  take  food  from  the 
fingers,  yet  they  resented  being  touched,  and 
if  I  attempted  to  stroke  a  vole  it  invariably 
stood  up,  squeaked,  and  struck  at  me  with  its 
fore  feet. 

Some  time  after  they  had  settled  down 
happily,  I  began  to  suspect  that  something 
interesting  was  going  on  in  a  new  nest  that 
had  appeared  in  one  corner  of  the  cage. 
Very  faint  squeaks  could  be  heard  occasion- 
ally, but  I  took  great  care  not  to  in  any  way 
interfere,  for  mice  when  upset  are  apt  to  kill 
their  young  ones,  so  the  cage  was  not  cleaned 
out,  and  even  fresh  food  was  carefully  put 
down  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  cage  to  that 
where  the  nursery  was  placed.  I  did  not  wish 
for  a  repetition  of  a  horrible  murder  such  as  I 
once  saw  happen.  In  that  case  I  had  found  a 
field  vole's  nest  in  a  hayfield,  and  more  by  luck 
than  anything  else  caught  the  mother  as  she 
ran  out  of  it.  With  some  difficulty,  for  she 
kept  nipping  my  fingers,  I  got  her  into  my 
handkerchief,  after  which  I  examined  the  nest. 

279 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

There  was  at  least  half  a  dozen  naked  blind 
pink  babies  in  it.  They  might  have  been  a 
day  old  but  were  certainly  not  more,  for  the 
wee  mites  were  only  about  half  an  inch  long. 
If  they  were  left  where  they  were  they  would 
certainly  be  killed,  as  they  were  right  in  the 
track  of  the  men  and  wagons  that  kept  going 
backwards  and  forwards,  so  I  picked  up  the 
nest  and  family  and  took  them  all  home, 
thinking  that  if  I  gave  them  a  comfortable 
place  to  live  in  they  would  be  all  right  and 
that  I  should  see  how  baby  voles  were  brought 
up.  It  was  a  glass-fronted  cage  that  I  put 
them  into,  so,  having  provided  everything  that 
they  could  possibly  want,  grass,  lettuce  leaves, 
water,  and  even  a  wisp  of  hay  to  make  some 
fresh  dry  bedding,  I  sat  down  some  way  off 
to  watch  what  the  mother  would  do.  First 
of  all  she  washed  herself  carefully,  then  she 
went  to  the  nest,  in  which  the  little  ones  were 
lying  quite  quiet  and  still,  pushed  aside  the  finely 
shredded  soft  covering  and  pulled  out  one  of 
the  babies.  Before  you  could  guess  what  was 
going  to  happen,  she  had  given  it  a  sharp  bite 
and  killed  it.  She  murdered  them  all ! 

What  made  her  do  it  ?     Was  it  to  save  them 
from  an  unknown  fate  ?     Or  was  it  wild  fear 
280 


THE  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD  VOLE 

and  excitement,  so  that  she  did  not  really 
know  what  she  was  doing  ?  All  I  can  say  is 
that  she  acted  perfectly  coolly  and  collectedly, 
and  appeared  neither  hurried  nor  flurried ; 
but  how  can  we  tell  what  her  motives 
were,  or  what  caused  her  to  act  as  she  did 
act? 

Fearing  that  if  I  looked  at  them  the  latter 
family  might  come  to  a  similar  untimely  end, 
I  did  not  even  peep  at  the  babies  until  they 
crawled  out  of  the  nest  of  their  own  accord. 
On  the  3rd  June  a  little  vole  toddled  out. 
It  was  clothed  in  a  smooth  thin  coat  of  brown 
fur,  and  was  a  very  babyish  little  person. 
Its  head  looked  much  its  biggest  part,  and  a 
feeble  attempt  to  sit  up  and  wash  its  face 
was  a  failure.  But  it  managed  to  sit  up  and 
eat  some  grass.  Next  day  there  were  two  or 
three  peeping  out,  and  by  the  third  day  I  was 
convinced  that  the  family  was  no  small  one. 
On  the  7th  I  knew  there  were  at  least  nine, 
but  they  grew  so  quickly,  and  were  now  so 
active,  that  they  were  most  difficult  to  count, 
and  you  could  not  be  sure  to  two  or  three. 
Their  mother  no  longer  worried  herself  about 
them ;  they  were  able  to  eat  well,  and  already 
quite  independent,  so  I  made  up  my  mind  to 

281 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

put  them  in  a  cage  by  themselves,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  8th  secured  them,  one  by  one, 
and  moved  them  over.  They  were  no  less  than 
ten  !  By  July  llth  another  family  had  been 
reared,  reached  independence,  and  set  free  in 
the  meadow.  These  were  but  five.  When 
catching  up  this  lot  I  found  that  there  was 
another  litter  of  five,  quite  young  ones,  perhaps 
three  or  four  days  old,  but  I  could  not  be 
sure  which  vole  was  the  mother.  By  July  21st 
yet  another  family  had  turned  up,  six  in  number 
this  time,  but  the  same  day  I  found  one  of 
the  old  mice  lying  dead  under  a  heap  of  grass. 
Shocking  to  say,  her  friends  had  been  acting 
on  the  principle  of  'waste  not,  want  not,'  and 
had  begun  to  eat  her.  What  caused  her  death 
I  did  not  find  out,  but  perhaps  it  was  the 
worries  of  so  many  young  ones.  The  other 
female  did  not  look  well,  and  I  grew  anxious 
lest  she  too  should  be  going  wrong.  How- 
ever, she  managed  to  rear  her  family.  In  the 
meantime  old  '  Billie,'  as  we  called  him,  had 
disappeared.  What  became  of  him  I  could 
not  find  out.  That  he  was  not  in  the  cage  was 
certain,  yet  how  he  could  have  got  out  of  it 
was  a  puzzle.  The  mystery  was  never  solved, 
and  I  only  hope  that  be  got  safely  away  out  of 
282 


THE  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD  VOLE 

doors.  As  there  was  now  only  the  one  mother 
and  the  six  young  ones  left,  I  took  them  out 
into  the  garden  and  set  them  free  in  some 
long  grass.  They  slipped  away  like  brown 
shadows  between  the  stems,  and  that  was  the 
last  that  was  seen  of  them. 

How  quaint  and  amusing  they  had  been, 
perhaps  their  funniest  habit  being  that  of 
taking  jam  or  honey  off  the  end  of  a  pencil. 
I  have  already  mentioned  how  fond  of  sweet 
things  they  were,  so  when  we  wanted  to  give 
them  a  treat  my  brother  and  I  used  to  dip  the 
end  of  a  pencil  into  the  honey  jar,  and  then 
hold  it  towards  one  of  the  voles,  when,  standing 
up  on  its  hind  legs,  it  would  take  the  pencil  in 
its  fore  paws  and  carefully  lick  off  every  trace 
of  sweet  stuff. 

A  point  that  always  struck  me  was  the  good 
nature  of  Billie,  who  never  interfered  with  or 
otherwise  ill-treated  any  of  the  many  young 
ones  that  were  continually  running  about  the 
cage.  He  never  showed  the  least  bad  temper 
with  them,  but  field  voles  are  in  general  very 
easy-going  creatures,  and  it  is  only  strangers 
who  are  attacked.  Just  before  I  turned  the 
old  female  out,  a  new  female  was  put  in  her 
cage,  thinking  that  she  might  be  glad  of  the 

283 


WILD  CREATURES  OF  GARDEN  AND  HEDGEROW 

company,  but  she  flew  straight  at  her,  and 
the  fight  was  so  furious  that  I  had  to 
remove  the  stranger  for  fear  she  would  be 
killed. 

Charming  and  fascinating  as  the  field  vole  is, 
it  must  not  be  forgotten  what  a  serious  matter 
it  is  when  the  little  creature  increases  too  much. 
It  can  multiply  so  fast  that  were  there  nothing 
to  check  it,  it  could  in  the  course  of  one  summer 
overrun  the  country,  eating  the  land  bare 
before  it.  It  is  to  the  owls,  hawks,  and  weasel 
that  we  owe  it,  in  great  measure,  that  a  mouse 
plague  is  really  rare.  This  is  why  it  is  such  a 
mistake  to  kill  the  vole-eaters — they  are  our 
friends  and  helpers.  By  not  interfering  with 
them  we  preserve  the  '  Balance  of  Nature,' 
and  then  no  animal  gets  too  plentiful;  there 
is  just  the  right  number  of  each,  and  so  all 
is  well,  no  kind  being  plentiful  enough  to  do 
harm. 

(The  Meadow  Vole  or  Grass  Mouse  of  Northern 
Europe,  which  was  named  Mus  agrestis  by  Linnaeus, 
has  been  found  by  modern  systemists  to  consist  of 
a  number  of  forms,  no  less  than  eleven  species  and 
sub-species  being  recognised  in  the  British  Isles. 
As  only  two  of  these  are  found  on  the  mainland, 
the  rest  belonging  to  the  Orkneys  and  to  the  Hebrides, 
284 


THE  SHORT-TAILED  FIELD  VOLE 

it  will  be  sufficient  to  say  here  that  the  common 
Meadow  Vole  of  England  is  known  scientifically  as 
Microtus  agrestis  hirtus,  and  that  a  larger  and  darker 
Vole  found  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  is  called 
M.  agrestis  neglectus.) 


Details  of  books  likely 
to  interest  readers  of 
*  Wild  Creatures  of  Garden 
and  Hedgerow'  will  be 
found  overleaf. 


BOOKS    ABOUT    PLANTS 

THE  NATURE  STUDENT'S  NOTE-BOOK 

By  Rev.   Canon   STEWARD,   M.A.,  and  ALICE   E. 
MITCHELL.     Interleaved  with  Writing  Paper. 

Contains  Nature  Notes,  Diary,  Detailed 

Classification  of  Plants,  Trees,  Animals, 

and  Insects. 


BOTANY 

An  Handy  Scientific  Text- Book.     By  E.  BRUCKER. 

Illustrations. 
( Thresholds  of  Science  Series. ) 


PLANT    PHYSIOLOGY   AND    ECOLOGY 

By  FREDERIC  E.  CLEMENTS,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of 

Botany  in  the  University  of  Minnesota. 

125  Illustrations. 


COTTAGE  GARDENING,  as  Taught    n 

Elementary  Schools.      By  GEORGE  H.  TAYLOR, 

F.R.H,S. 


INSECT  PESTS  AND  PLANT  DISEASES 
in  the  Vegetable  and  Fruit  Garden.  By 
F.  MARTIN  DUNCAN,  F.R.M.S.,  etc.  Author 
'  Cassells'  Natural  History,'  '  Wonders  of  Insect  Life.' 
Illustrated. 

A  Text-Book  for  the  Amateur 
Gardener  and  Allotment  Holder 


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BOOKS  ABOUT  ANIMALS 

ECONOMIC  ZOOLOGY  &  ENTOMOLOGY 

An  Elementary  Text-Book.    By  VERNON  L.  KELLOGG 
and  C.  W.  DOANE. 

Devotes  special  attention  to  the 
economic  relations  between  scien- 
tifically classified  animal  groups. 


ZOOLOGY 

An  Handy  Scientific  Text-Book.     By  E.  BRUCKER. 

Illustrations. 
(Thresholds  of  Science  Series.) 

IF 

FARM  ANIMALS  :  HOW  TO  BREED, 
FEED,  CARE  FOR  AND  USE  THEM 

By  E.  V.  WILLCOX,  Ph.D.,  of  the  U.S.A.  Department 
of  Agriculture.     Fully  Illustrated. 


EXTINCT   ANIMALS 

By  Sir  E.  RAY  LANKESTER,  F.R.S.     Portrait  and 
numerous  Illustrations.      Revised  Edition. 


OUTLINES  OF   EVOLUTIONARY 
BIOLOGY 

By  ARTHUR  DENDY,  D.Sc.,  F.R.S.     Professor  of 

Zoology   in    the    University   of    London,    etc.    etc. 

Second    Enlarged    Edition.         Fourth    Impression. 

Fully  Illustrated. 


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